The Great Journey
by London1
Summary: Sarahfree! A great journey...includes magic, suspense, action, strange new creatures, and a great battle! A Knights of The Labyrinth tale OU Sequel is in the works. Reformatted so people can read chapter by chapter
1. Prologue

The Great Journey

By London

Note: A Knight of the Labyrinth tale. I promise action, adventure, romance, drama, and a good splash of humor.

Prologue – A Brief History Lesson

A long time ago, when more people believed in the "little people" or "fae folk", as they prefer, a great journey took place. According to Earther's, the people who live above ground, this is nothing more then a silly tall tale, but to the fae folk, this is a great story of historic significance.

The tale of 'The Great Journey' starts out in the vast kingdom of the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth was, and still is, ruled by a mighty king named Jareth. He is descended from a great ruling line of Elfin rulers and aristocrats who came from all sorts of places in the Underground, the world where all fae folk live.

From a young age, Jareth was known to be malevolent, a trickster. In his early teens, he started his training of fae magic and found an affinity for illusions. He found that he had the power to enchant nearly any female of any race, charm those who were higher up, and create almost any place or person with his magic without the slightest feeling of exhaustion.

The blonde prince grew up ensconced in power and magic until he crossed a greater, more powerful prince. Prince Jareth, handsome and debonair, had tricked one of the many daughters of Prince Elathan into marriage. Jareth would have not only gained a large fortune, but much more power.

Enraged, Elathan, the prince of darkness, exiled Jareth to a bland kingdom that contained so many various races that war had broken out amongst the citizens. The kingdom was in the form of a very large labyrinth and a very dangerous forest. To the north of the Labyrinth lay a vast desert that was so dry no man, elf, or faery had ever crossed it. To the south and west lay a great ocean plagued by great storms that swallowed ships and beasts. The east held the only possible way out of the Labyrinth, a great dense forest that held so many dangers it was barely traveled except by large groups of warriors who protected tradesmen. The great forest also contained a large bog, the Bog of Eternal Stench. A whiff could melt nose hair, a taste would poison your taste buds, and a touch would make you smell bad even in death.

Jareth found himself stranded in the center of the large labyrinth. The city that surrounded the strong castle was named Goblin City. The reek of the city could be smelled ten stories up. The noise from the goblins, faeries, elves, dwarves, and other such creatures was enough to drive a man insane.

For nearly two hundred years, Jareth stayed inside his castle at all times. Goblins who were sometimes found in the castle would claim to see him in a deep depression or practicing his magic or exploring his castle. The castle was built upon a great underground cave of natural hot water. In the midst of the coldest winter, the castle was free of snow and ice, which in turn led the citizens to believe their king was more powerful then the most powerful Fae.

According to various words, Jareth's castle is somewhere between twenty stories tall to one hundred stories tall. It most certainly does not meet the clouds, but it is a massive and intimidating sight. The white stone, now gray from the filth of the Goblin City, will shine through after one of the long summer storms. Gargoyles made from various stones and of various shapes and sizes stand guard around every level of the castle. It was rumored that Jareth made the gargoyles in his spare time, but whether he did or not; it was not enough for the new king.

Jareth grew restless with his time until one day three beings stood before him in his throne room. There was a dark elf, which, by Earther means, had black hair, very large almond eyes, and skin that was very pale yet tinged with green. Dark elves, which most Earthers think of as evil, are simply shorter elves, perhaps five feet or five and a half feet tall, with dark hair and eyes. The light elves have more fair tones, blonde hair, blue eyes, perhaps light brown or red hair, they stand up to seven feet in height, but all with the same pale skin and pointed ears. This elf stood a grand total of four feet and ten inches. He was dressed in green and brown cloth and carried a sword in his belt.

The second being was a small, thin creature that was covered in spines and bristly fur as a hedgehog might be. This creature, a pixie, wore a hat of bright red and a matching sash around his waist. He only came up to the dark elves thigh, but had a presence of authority about him.

The third being was of great size and build, and was a foreigner, even in the Labyrinth. She was a centaur. Her hair and coat were of a rich mahogany and her skin was very tan. Her face was long and narrow, but it only accentuated her foreign appearance. She was encrusted with armor plating and décor while gracing her self with an axe pike.

Jareth stood before his throne watching the three warriors for a great time. The swishing sound of the centaur's tail brought him around to speak.

"I am King Jareth" Jareth said. "Who are you?" He watched as each being spoke in turn.

"I am Somai" The dark elf said with a bow. "Of Modgrough."

"I am Zane" The pixie said in a high voice. "Of your great labyrinth."

The centaur bowed her front half before speaking. "I am Caduul of Tirn Aill. Sent here by way of letter from Prince Elathan."

"Prince Elathan?" Jareth sneered. "What does he wish you to do here?"

"I bring a letter, your majesty" Caduul said retrieving a letter from a hidden purse. Jareth took it and sat in a disheveled heap on his throne reading the letter.

The letter read: _To King Jareth; I have been watching your kingdom and found it to be as unruly as it was when you first were entrusted with it. It concerns me that you don't seem capable of controlling your lands, your people, and the magic that is hidden within the Labyrinth._

_It has been two hundred years since your exile. As I am now the King of Darkness, I will grant your exile to be terminated if, and only if, you prove yourself to be a worthy king._

_Control you're Labyrinth and its peoples and you will find your reprieve. The Labyrinth holds many secrets and these secrets can only be found if you truly are a great ruler._

_To help you start your path back to the high courts I have sent you three warriors. It is up to you if you wish to employ their help for your future._

_Elathan, King of Darkness._

Jareth tucked the letter into his vest and turned to face the three before him. The three seemed very different and the only one who truly looked like a warrior was Caduul.

"You were all sent here?" Jareth asked.

"Yes, your majesty" Somai said.

"Do you all know why you were sent here?" Jareth asked.

"That we do, sire" Zane said.

With his interest piqued, Jareth requested that the three warriors take up housing in his guest cottage for five nights. Over those five nights, Jareth made plans for the change his Labyrinth would need to endure so he would find himself back at the high courts.

No one knows what Jareth planned exactly, but after five nights he gave each warrior a personal mission. Each warrior was to find two others they considered worthy of being knighted. After Caduul, Somai, and Zane were finished, they were all to form a small protective group of warriors whose main goal was to protect the Labyrinth.

Jareth also asked the three to each find a goblin that showed the cunning of a warrior. The three warriors nodded and began their trek into the Labyrinth.

It took an entire moon cycle before the three warriors were reunited with the king. The night was poor. A great summer storm had ripped through the Labyrinth. The warriors were all taken inside of the castle.

"Present your warriors to me, Zane" Jareth said from his throne. The small pixie stepped forward and gestured to his companions.

"Your majesty, may I present to you Thera of Mayville and Assellus of Goblin City" Zane said with a smile. Thera was of tiny stature, like Zane, but was not as charming. Her skin was brown, her hair stringy and nearly black, her eyes were too large, and her nose was pressed up so it barely stood out from her face. She was a brownie, a very loyal and submissive creature.

Assellus, on the other hand, was a light elf. His blonde hair was tied into a braid so his ears clearly showed. His tunic was made of soft gray leather that was trimmed with elfin embroidery. He carried a crossbow across his back and proudly stood a grand six-foot, four-inches.

"Somai" Jareth called. Somai traded positions with Zane and gave a slight bow to the king.

"I wish to present to you Bear the traveler and Sol of Olive Grove" Somai said. Bear massively stood at six-feet, nine-inches. He carried a great battle-ax.

"Bear" Jareth asked. "What race are you?"

"Human, your majesty" Bear said in a deep low voice.

"Human?" Jareth repeated.

"I assure you your majesty. Bear is quite capable. I found him roaming the eastern forest" Somai said. Jareth nodded and looked over Sol. Sol only stood four and a half feet tall, but was very thick through the chest. Very characteristically for a dwarf, he had a long red beard and hair. He also carried a battle-ax, but also had several knives tucked away in his belt.

"Caduul" Jareth said.

"Your majesty, I'd like to present Verdel Lambis of Stone City and Bjorn Askeer of Svengard" Caduul said.

"Verdel Lambis" Jareth said. "May I inquire about your age?"

"I am nearly four hundred" Verdel replied. His short stature and white beard seemed strange in the midst of all the other younger beings in the room.

"And what makes you fit to be a warrior?" Jareth asked.

"Nothing" Verdel replied. He carried a variety of pouches and bags around his waist. He stood as tall as his tiny frame would allow while holding a tall staff. "But, I do not need metal to be effective."

"What is it that you do then?" Jareth asked.

"I am a sorcerer, your highness" Verdel said with a bow. Jareth nodded and looked at the tall, fair colored man beside Verdel. He stood six feet tall. He had his long blonde hair pulled back revealing human shaped ears. His face was adorned with a long Fu Manchu style moustache.

"Bjorn Askeer, are you human?" Jareth asked.

"Yes" Bjorn replied. Jareth nodded while deciding on how to proceed for the future.

The warriors waited until the storm passed before receiving their instructions to form into a council. Jareth helped them form their own constitution and rules while requesting a few rules of his own to be placed into the writ.

The Constitution of Labyrinthine Knights, as it was titled, reads as follows:

1. One must posess loyalty to the king, the land, and to thy self.

2. Respect the Elders and you will, in turn, receive their respect. Elders would be the Elder knights (Generals), the king, and any knight higher ranking then you.

3. Don't take anything for granted.

4. Freedom of religion.

5. Fight for the right, as one.

6. The King's actions are not our own and we are not to intervene, except to protect those who may travel through the Labyrinth.

It took three days to write the constitution and another three to develop a system for training any future knights. King Jareth allowed the knights to train with each other until they felt they knew themselves and each other better.

While Jareth watched the Knights trained, he found himself busy with the three gathered warrior goblins Caduul, Somai, and Zane had found. After installing fear into them which wasn't hard, Jareth held a small feast in which the goblins attended. These three goblins, Smorgaf, Bronze, and Grouple were to become the start of the great goblin army.

Jareth allowed the three goblins to train with the Knights of the Labyrinth until the Knights sent them back.

As time came and went, so did the knights. The Knights of the Labyrinth became highly regarded as the peacekeepers of the Labyrinth. A small school was developed for various purposes. Many beings attended to learn medical skills at Myrick's Corner or magic at Cardella Hall, but only a few were selected to ever become knights.

The Labyrinth was becoming a reformed kingdom with a strong royal military and with a strong union of specialized knights. The markets started to become very popular, though the roads into the Labyrinth still remained very dangerous. The Labyrinth was growing and doing very well until Romarra came along.

Romarra, one of the daughters of Duncan the Red, a great warrior, came to the Goblin City with one of the groups of tradesmen. It didn't take long for her to meet the king as he was prone to throwing huge parties at this time since his depression was gone.

They met and instantly the king thought he had fallen in love with the dark haired girl. She was tall and had very dark hair that fell to the middle of her back. Her eyes were hazel and her will was strong. She was everything the king wanted in a girl.

The only problem was that Romarra was not in love with the king. She tried telling him several times, but he wouldn't listen to her. Finally, during the midst of fall, Romarra had left leaving a note for the king. It simply read: _Jareth. I cannot stay. I do not love you. You have no power over me. Romarra._

The king was devastated. He stopped hosting his lavish parties and only wandered through the streets of Goblin City in costume, preying on the drunks, dropping them into the Bog of Eternal Stench.

His army became a mass of slobbering idiots, the Knights of the Labyrinth started to decrease in numbers leaving only a handful left, the Fiery Forest to the east became even more dangerous, and the citizens became very frightened of their king.

It took almost thirty years before the king had a visitor. You see, all the while Jareth was king in the Labyrinth, it was his duty to take children who were unwanted and unloved and turn them into goblins. Sometimes, he even allowed the wisher a chance to run through the Labyrinth with the hopes of reaching his castle, but no one ever made it.

When this new visitor wished away her baby brother, Jareth appeared before her. He was stunned to find that she looked almost like a cut out of Romarra, except younger. He pledged his love for her while she ran through his labyrinth, but she didn't understand. She made it through the Labyrinth, encountered Sir Didymus one of the last knights, and won back her brother.

Her name was Sarah Williams. Her brother was Toby. It is a classic tale of the Labyrinth. The king does not speak her name or Romarra's and, as a courtesy, the citizens of the Labyrinth don't.

Our story begins a decade after the Sarah Williams incident in the Goblin City. The Knights of the Labyrinth, once holding a constant sixty knights, now holds a measly twenty. They are constantly on duty and rotate in three different shifts: morning, evening, and graveyard. With seven divisions among the knights, it has left the Labyrinth open to several attacks and high crime.


	2. Chapter 1: Court of the Knights

Chapter One – Court of The Knights

Dusk. Goblin City was roused with noise and the smells of food. The constant bout of travelers and tradesmen filled the air with elven songs played on low-toned goblin instruments.

The sound of yelling and the hurried steps of horses turned heads, but were not enough to stall the cities fun. It only took minutes before a rider raced through the crowd; a cloaked rider in black followed him closely.

The cloaked rider pulled out a white hunter's horn and let out a loud resonating call. The horn was dropped from the rider's hand, falling back amongst the folds of the cape.

"Move!" The cloaked rider yelled. The crowd parted almost biblically. The black stallion sped up until the rider was nearly side-by-side to the other rider. The rider's hand made a sharp arch upward. There was a flash of white and a painful crack before the other rider hit the ground.

The rider in black slowed down the stallion and turned around. The crowed watched as the rider dismounted and pushed the dark hood back. Revealed was Sir Jessie Cardemus, elder knight (or General) for the Goblin City division of the knights. She bent down and picked up a piece of her shattered horn.

"Damn" Jessie whispered to herself in a slight British accent. "That was a good horn too." She dropped the piece of the horn and pulled out a pair of shackles. The young light elf was unconscious and bleeding from the nose and mouth. Jessie cuffed him and hoisted him onto her horse.

The crowd seemed to enclose around her. She mounted her horse and looked out among the crowd.

"I am Sir Jessie Cardemus of the Knights of the Labyrinth" Jessie said loudly. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

"Bah!" An old lady yelled from the crowd. Jessie narrowed her eyes at the old junkyard crone. "You…'knights'…are a joke!"

"Explain yourself or shut your trap" Jessie said.

"You locked my son, Agmen, away you whore!" The crone yelled.

"Agmen" Jessie said through clenched teeth. "Destroyed Magilla's Pub and caught two houses on fire." Jessie turned around in a circle. "We don't choose sides. We uphold the law." The crowd just stared back. "Be safe and just, or I will be back."

The crowd separated as Jessie rode off towards the jailhouse.

When the light of dawn peeked down onto the Labyrinth, Jessie rode back to the Court of the Knights. The Court, as it was called, was the turf of the Knights. Their buildings and training fields were there, along with the jailhouse.

The night had brought out thieves and drunkards, even a small gang of hobgoblins who had been spooked by Jessie's very presence. Jessie put her black stallion, Aftiel, in the stables and headed towards the food hall.

The food hall could barely be considered full, but with the shift change the half dozen knights were considered a full bunch. Jessie ordered eggs and toast. She took off her cape and found a seat while her food was cooking. A few of the knights stared at her as she pulled a pair of sunglasses from a pocket inside her coat.

Noticing, Jessie smiled flashing her fangs for show.

"Stop causing a fuss, girl" Verde, the hefty cook, said. He put her tray of food before her and set a small wooden cage to her left.

"Thank you, Verde" Jessie said. It was the same routine she had been doing since day one. She took her empty glass, opened the small wooden cage, and with a flick of the wrist, pulled the head off of the rodent. Every time the others always watched, some sickened, some strangely fascinated. But every time…

"You're so disgusting, London" Sir Alexa said. She threw a chuck of fried potato at London, Jessie's personal nickname. Jessie put the rodent back into the cage and picked up her glass of blood. "Why don't you do that outside?"

"I hear your Sergeant quit last night" Jessie said before taking a long drink of her blood.

"Half Ama'sovai" Alexa scoffed. Ama'sovai, an almost extinct race of vampires. "You're barely human, freak."

"Sir Alexa, please hold your temper" Giallo, the thin chef, called from the kitchen.

"Fuck you, Giallo" Alexa said while standing up. From the kitchen Verde tried to make noise while Giallo said something about spitting in Alexa's food. The door to the food hall opened and Aulus Firewolfe plopped down across from Jessie.

"You going to eat that toast?" Aulus asked. He took a piece before Jessie even answered.

"Ew!" Alexa shrieked. "He is a shape-shifter. You're letting him eat your food!"

Jessie stood up and turned towards Alexa. Alexa flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms.

"First off, you bigoted bitch, we're all knights here. It shouldn't matter who is what." Jessie said. "Secondly, it sounds like you need a nap."

"You know" Aulus said in between bites of toast. "If she doesn't shut you up, Alexa, I will."

"I'm leaving. You two sicken me" Alexa replied. She gave a small 'hmph' sound and stormed out of the food hall. Jessie lifted her right hand towards the others in the food hall. Eyes widened when they saw the small knife in her hand.

"Does anyone else have a problem?" Jessie asked. Heads shook 'no' and turned back towards their food. Jessie stuck the knife in the table and sat down. "Aulus?"

"Yep" Aulus said.

"Get your own damned toast" Jessie said.

The evening shift for the Goblin City was handled by Sir Mirya Rayn, Lieutenant. Standing at six-feet, her elven beauty was rumored to be inspiration for poets. Underneath her outer appearance, though, was the true heart of a noble warrior.

She sat atop her horse while going through the Goblin City. The people seemed quiet. Almost too quiet. Making her way over towards the traveler's campground she saw why. Only a few tradesmen were left.

"Excuse me" A young dark elf called to her. Mirya turned to her left and found the young man atop a small pinto pony. "Excuse me. Are you one of those knights?"

"I am" Mirya replied. "Who are you?"

"My name is Marcus Ghivae" The young man said. "I just got into the Goblin City this morning."

"Welcome to our city" Mirya said. "I am patrolling. You may ride along, but understand that I am at work here."

"Oh" Marcus said. "Hey, no problem. I was wondering if you guys were looking for any new people. I mean. I'm looking to become a knight."

"Really?" Mirya said with a smile. "You'll need to go to the Great Hall at The Court. They can sign you up, Mr. Ghivae."

"Where is that?" Marcus asked.

"Follow this main road east" Mirya said. "There are signs."

"Thank you, Sir" Marcus replied. He rode off in the direction of The Court.

"I hope he has friends" Mirya said under her breath before continuing her patrol.

Pounding at the heavy front door woke Sir Jessie from her sleep. She sat up and ran a finger through her tousled hair which was looking like something from Earth's 1980s. She slid off of her couch and straightened the robe she was wearing. She groaned and stumbled over to her door.

"Yes?" Jessie growled. A goblin held out two pieces of mail for her. Jessie took the two letters. "Why didn't you just put these in my box?"

"One is from the king" The goblin said before turning and scampering down the path. Jessie shut the door and went back to the couch. She lit two giant oil lamps before looking at her mail.

Jessie broke the seal with her finger and opened the heavy parchment. It read: _Sir Jessie Cardemus, Elder; I require your attendance at 4:00PM sharp. –Jareth_

Jessie looked at the large clock that hung over her fireplace. It was 3:30pm. Jessie groaned and stumbled into her bedroom. She didn't need the lights on to see properly. Being half Ama'sovai had its advantages.

She quickly dressed in black tights, her black riding boots, and after being slightly indecisive, picked out a crimson poet shirt and black vest. Jessie pulled on her usual equipment and armor before leaving her room. She turned out the lamps and collected her letter from the king. She pulled on her long cloak, slid her sunglasses on, and headed out to get her horse.

"You're late" Jareth said immediately. Jessie walked over to the long dining table that was laid out with an entire feast. The six other elder knights were sitting at the table.

"My apologies" Jessie said. "I only just received the letter."

"Sit" Jareth commanded. Jessie took the only empty chair that was left. Jareth stood up and looked at everyone. "If you have not noticed, over the past long while my kingdom has been struck with a significant amount of crime and danger." Goblins with pitchers of peach wine filled everyone's glass. "I want this fixed."

"How do you propose to do that, your majesty?" Sir Zill Raa, a pan, asked.

"By increasing your numbers" Jareth said. "I want my army trained as well. It would be nice to have a safer way into the Labyrinth, too."

"We can't even get respect from most of the citizens in Goblin City" Jessie piped up. "How do you expect us to increase our numbers?" Jessie looked at the entire group of knights, then back at Jareth. "Your majesty, if I may speak freely for a minute." Jareth nodded. "If you're so worried about the crime, then why are we all here right now about to drink and dine? Three elders here are supposed to be on duty right now."

"I have it worked out, Sir Cardemus" Jareth said. He rubbed the bridge of his nose only as a show of displeasure. He picked up his wine glass. "My idea to gain respect for you, to increase your numbers, and to keep the citizens happy, is simply to hold a festival." Jareth sipped his wine. "It will be a three day festival. I want you to hold a competition. The prize will be becoming a squire. You will train them and gain more knights. The citizens of Goblin City will enjoy the competitions and will learn what your squires are capable of doing."

"When do you propose to have this competition?" Alexa asked. "We won't be able to patrol if we have to hold a competition."

"I'll have my men take over for the three days" Jareth replied. Zill choked on his wine and quickly wiped his mouth.

"Sorry, Sire" Zill whispered.

Jareth rolled his eyes and continued. "If you all agree to this, I will send out notices tomorrow. We will hold the competition in a month, 30 days. Are we all agreed?"

"Yes" Everyone said. The knights had all been working without a break for longer then anyone should in an entire lifetime. Any help would be more then appreciated and they all could agree on that.

"Perfect" Jareth replied. "Please, help yourselves to dinner." Jareth took his seat and everyone started to slowly pile food onto their plates. "I would like to thank you all for serving the kingdom so loyally. You are all greatly appreciated."

"I'm sorry, your highness" Jessie said. She stood up. "I can't sit here while I know that I should be out there."

"You will sit here and eat" Jareth ordered. "Milady."

"Maybe she just needs one of her rodents to eat" Alexa said. The other knights turned to glare at her.

"That was uncalled for, Alexa" Sir Pheon'a Cha said in a singsong voice. Out of all the elders, she was the most unique as she was a Fiery, one of the larger pixies in the area with the ability to dismember herself and put herself back together.

"My apologies, but I agree with Sir Jessie" Sir Aulus replied. "I have duties to tend to, but I will stay."

"I'm sorry you both feel this way" Jareth said. He gestured for Jessie to sit which she did. "As you all know, I don't do this often, so forgive my intrusion on your duties for tonight." Jessie gave a small snarl and picked up her wine glass. The lack of sleep was already a burden. Receiving only four hours was enough to make her overly grouchy. "Sir Jessie, my dear, please stay once we are done here. I think we need to have a discussion."

The other knights remained silent as a classroom of children might when the teacher scorns one classmate. Jessie finished her glass of wine and loudly slammed her glass on the table.

"Yes, Sire" Jessie grumbled. Everyone looked over at Jareth to see what his reaction would be. He gave a feral smile. They all knew that the king and Jessie had a special relationship, but how far he'd allow her to push him was never fully understood.

The meal was short and full of high tension. Everyone was quick to leave before the king requested anyone else to stay for a discussion. Sir Jessie followed the king into his personal study.

When the doors were shut, Jareth turned to her and started the discussion.

"Never interrupt me" Jareth said through clenched teeth. "You may be in charge of your small division in The Court, but I am still the king." Jessie tightened her jaw muscles. "What the hell has happened to you anyway?" He walked in circles around her. "Not enough sleep? Not eating enough?"

"I have been working non-stop for the last ten years" Jessie said coldly.

"Great" Jareth said. "I have been king ten times longer then you have been alive. I am king twenty-six hours a day for every single day."

"I believe we all just need a break, sire" Jessie said. Jareth stopped behind her. From thin air, he produced a magic crystal and allowed it to float in front of her.

"You simply have to say when" Jareth said. He leaned forward, close to her ear. "You know that."

"I cannot" Jessie said. "I have duties to deal with. I can't just leave."

"Your perseverance is admirable" Jareth replied. He flicked his wrist and the bubble disappeared. He stepped around her and moved to lean against his desk. "When do you go on duty?"

"One hour" Jessie said. A sudden, impatient knock sounded from the door.

"Come" Jareth said loudly. A goblin rushed in. "What is it?"

"Yer highness! There's trouble!" The goblin said. Jessie quickly moved to the window.

"Where? What kind of trouble?" Jareth asked.

"The travelers" The goblin said. "They've all gone mad!"

"There's a fire" Jessie said. The loud low tone of a bell could be heard as well as sirens from the firefighters.

"How have these travelers gone mad?" Jareth asked.

"They started brawling and setting fires!" The goblin replied.

"Then get out there and stop it!" Jareth yelled. The goblin nodded and ran out of the room.

"I need to go" Jessie said running to the door. The doors closed before Jessie could get to them.

"We are not done" Jareth said angrily. "My men can handle it."

"Are you crazy!" Jessie yelled. She turned around to find Jareth mere inches from her. "You're going to get people killed."

"How would you like a small vacation?" Jareth growled. "I know of a few good oubliettes that you may like."

"You wouldn't" Jessie said. "There's been too much trouble for you to do such a thing."

"Where is that cute, spunky girl who I helped raise?" Jareth whispered. He raised his hands and produced a crystal once again. "Don't worry. I'll let the others know."

The crystal burst producing a blinding light. When the light disappeared, Jessie was gone and Jareth sighed.

"How unruly" Jareth said to himself.


	3. Chapter 2: Jessie's Tale

Chapter Two – Jessie's Tale

"Squire Ghivae" Sir Mirya called. She was already mounted and was waiting for Marcus Ghivae, the newest squire, to appear from the stables with his pinto. Mirya cracked her neck. She had been up for nearly twenty hours and was about to start her double shift. Marcus rode out of the stables with a goblin cursing after him.

"Sorry" Marcus said.

"One thing you need to learn, young squire, is punctuality" Mirya said. "It's better to be early then to be late."

"Understandable" Marcus replied.

"Come" Mirya said. "We need to get to patrol."

They rode into the Goblin City and followed the outskirts of the city so Mirya could show Marcus where he was to patrol, if he was to patrol alone.

"If you don't mind my asking" Marcus said. "What happened to the legendary sixty knights of the Labyrinth?"

"It happened a while ago" Mirya said with a disappointed breath. "The king became very depressed and allowed his army to go to waste. We were forced to clean up their messes and deal with our own duties. It became too much for most of the knights. Some of them retired. Some of them just quit."

"Oh" Marcus said. "So, do all squires start out patrolling Goblin City?"

"No" Mirya replied. "We usually don't allow squires to be in the field until they have gone through the proper training. We're making a huge exception for you."

"Why's that?" Marcus asked.

"The king has hidden Sir Jessie Cardemus in one of his oubliettes" Mirya replied.

"Why would he do that?" Marcus asked. Mirya took a deep breath. It was early morning and they would be out until dusk. Mirya took out her canteen and took a large gulp of water.

"The king and Sir Jessie have a unique relationship" Mirya said. "You could say that she was dropped onto his doorstep. It's a long story." Marcus raised an eyebrow. "I'll tell you, but I warn you. They are both touchy about the story." Marcus nodded his head. "It happened about ten years ago. Sir Jessie was switched at birth with an Earth child. No one knows who did it and no one knows why.

"She was raised on Earth, Aboveground, in a place called London, England. She found out, early on, that she was different. She blisters in the full sun, she can see perfectly on the darkest nights, and she hungers for the fresh blood of creatures. She is half Ama'sovai, that is, half vampire.

"She has herself under control now, but when she first got here she was almost bestial. I'm getting ahead of myself though. She came to the Labyrinth when she was a child of eleven. She claims to have read a book and, being young, read aloud. I remember being on patrol with the late Sir Renaud and watching as the goblins tried to bring her in.

"She escaped from them and ran right into the morning market crowd. She hassled a goblin to figure out where she was. We allowed her to steal a blanket once I noticed that her skin was starting to blister heavily. I figured she was some sort of being, but I couldn't figure out what sort at that point. Her ears are the sort Mann, or humans, have.

"I watched as she ducked into the closest building she could find. The market crowd had turned ugly since she had taken the blanket. I tried to hold them off while Renaud took the initiative to retrieve the girl. I wasn't there when he found her inside a tavern, but I hear that she was pretty badly beaten.

"Renaud immediately took her to the king. As knights we are decreed not to interfere with the king and those he brings to the Labyrinth from Aboveground, but we are also protectors of the Labyrinth and of all the people who enter the kingdom."

"Was she okay?" Marcus asked.

"She was struck with a mild amnesia that lasted for a week" Mirya said. "By the time she was taken to the castle she was pink, covered in blisters, and was very unpleasant. The king questioned her for no more then a few minutes before she collapsed.

"The doctor checked her out and we all found out that she was half Ama'sovai. He told the king that in order for her to become better she needed a special mud bath."

"Wait" Marcus said. "Why didn't she try to just go back to Earth and why would the king care if she got better?"

"Jessie appeared right after the…Williams Incident" Mirya replied. "She wished herself away and, by his own rules, she must remain here. At this time, the king was in a state of depression. We had already lost nearly twenty knights at that point. I suppose the king needed some sort of hope and I guess he found it in her.

"Anyway, he took care of her and gave her the nickname 'London' since that was the only thing she could remember at that time. It was later that she remembered her true name. Renaud stuck around until she was fifteen to help train her for knighthood. The king actually taught her most of what she knows with the exception of all her knightly training.

"It used to be that she would search for victims to feed from in the city, but she caused a great panic and the king forbade her to ever hunt like that in his kingdom again. The king had Renaud teach her how to focus her hunger into a force to use with her fighting. She quickly became one of the most enduring and self-willed knights.

"She once told me that she was striving to be as great as the king wanted her to be. As the years went on I watched as she tried to be the best. Renaud was always there to cheer her on, but the king urged her to be better. When she was eighteen, a sergeant at the time, she had some sort of breakdown.

"There was a great fight between her and the king, over what we don't know. Neither one will talk about it. The king secluded himself in his castle for an entire year and that is when his army truly fell to pieces."

"So" Marcus said. "The king and Sir Jessie were like father and daughter?"

"I'd guess more like mentor and student" Mirya said. "Sometimes I sense the tensions that only love can bring around, but I don't think they even realize it. It took a long time before they made up, but they did. Now she is the only one who can get away with speaking up against the king without any severe punishment."

"I don't know. I wouldn't want to be in an oubliette" Marcus said.

"It could have been worse" Mirya said. "There are too many possible tortures he could have placed upon her. An oubliette is nothing."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" Jareth's voice said from out of nowhere. Jessie looked around and allowed herself to slide back down into the oubliette. She had been, for the last hour, trying to climb up the slippery tunnel that led up.

"Let me out" Jessie said.

"Why should I?" Jareth's voice asked. Jessie took a deep breath and leaned against the side of the oubliette. She slid down the slick wall until she was sitting on the ground.

"I'm so tired" Jessie whispered. She put her head in her hands and allowed her shoulders to shake with pent up angst and stress. A hand solidly touched her shoulder. She looked up to see Jareth crouching before her. She leaned forward and fell into his arms. "I'm so tired, Jareth."

"Shh" Jareth cooed. He ran his gloved hands in slow soothing motions on her back. "I am trying to find help for you and the knights. Look at me." He pushed her back so he could look into her eyes. "Just a month longer. Once you have some squires, I won't let you go to The Court except to retrieve Aftiel. You'll return after you've had a substantial break."

Jessie nodded.

"Collect yourself" Jareth said. "I hear you have a new squire. I'll send you home so you can rest. Aftiel has been returned to his stable."

"Thank you" Jessie whispered. Jareth kissed her forehead and handed her a crystal.


	4. Chapter 3: Vakkijnor Festival

Chapter Three – Vakkijnor Festival

The Goblin City was pregnant with excitement about the upcoming festival, The Vakkijnor Festival. Vakkijnor being the Underground term for the Valkyries, the choosers of the slain. The Goblin City was becoming decorated in paper lanterns, flags, and streamers. Travelers and tradesmen started pouring into the city the day before the festival. They brought with them exotic foods and fabrics, ales and wines, and an entire batch of fresh gourds from the kingdom at Cnoc Meadha.

Aside from all of the visitors and tradesmen, a vast assortment of warriors appeared. Many gathered at the local inns and campgrounds. As space was taken up, they were subjected to the stables with their horses, but everyone's spirits remained high.

As dusk settled the night before the festival, the goblin army started their rounds of patrol just as the king had promised. The Goblin City was in a fury of singing, dancing, and drinking. The knights, however, rested. The elders were invited to the castle while the others simply tried to sleep and prepare themselves for the festival.

King Jareth waited while all of the elders appeared in his throne room. Pheon'a and Zill were almost dragging themselves along having just gotten off their shift. As soon as everyone appeared, Jareth smiled and stood before his throne.

"My dear knights" Jareth said. "I have invited you all here for one simple reason. Please follow me."

"My heads' about to come off" Pheon'a whined.

"Sir Pheon'a" Jareth said as he led the knights down a narrow curving staircase. "Keep your head until you see what I have in store for you."

After going down deeper and deeper into the bowels of the castle, the group finally ended up in a steamy underground cave. Giant lanterns with a rainbow variety of colored oils lit the cave. The steam came from the large pools of water that, in turn, heated the entire castle.

"Welcome to my private hot springs" Jareth said. "I've had my servants bring down ice, fresh water, and two kegs of ruach."

"Ruach?" Zill asked.

"Berry wine from the mountains" Jareth said. Zill made a slight motion with his head to signal his response. "You all may disrobe and place your things behind those stalagmites. They will be kept dry there."

Jareth removed his clothes and climbed into the pool before anyone even budged. The others slowly followed. Soon, the only sounds were of fair conversations and of the water slapping against the rocks.

Close to the thirteenth hour, they were all happily buzzed from the imported ruach.

The next morning, Sir Aulus and Sir Alexa found themselves as the judges with headaches while sitting on the raised platform overlooking Somai Field. Somai Field, named after Sir Somai (read the Prologue), was one of the many training fields and it was being used for the festival.

The first day of the festival was to be a daylong event of one-on-one battles and contests in the defensive arts. Aulus and Alexa waited while the lieutenants positioned the hay bale targets and guided the people of the Labyrinth into the bleachers that lined the field.

Horns played songs until Aulus and Alexa stood, revealing their readiness. The festival started with archery and led into fencing, freestyle martial arts, and finally the one-on-one combats. Close to 3:00pm Aulus and Alexa switched their stations with Sir Pheon'a and Sir Don Carlos, who continued to watch and judge.

The judging was harsh. During the group fencing demonstration, a slip or miscalculated move would be an almost instant disqualification. By the end of the day, only seventy, out of one hundred fifty, remained.

The second day of the festival was the focus of brains and magic. Sir Jessie, Sir Hugo, and Sir Zill watched over the first half of the day's matches. A series of logic, science, math, history, and literature problems had been specially crafted for the tournament. By the end of their shift, all seventy knights remained and were highly praised.

The second shift, manned by Sir Pheon'a and Sir Jessie, which was started after an hour break, was the focus of magic. The seventy applicants were divided into two groups: those who knew magic and those who did not. Those who did were to demonstrate their greatest abilities with magic. Those who did not know magic were given two hours in which instruction and practice of magic could take place, and then they were to demonstrate their new abilities.

After the spectacular magic event, only fifty-one knights remained. Before the tournament ended for the night though, Sir Pheon'a and Sir Jessie made it clear that only forty people would be accepted and that the rest, if they felt up to it, could become squires until another tournament was set up.

As the crowd dispersed, a small goblin made his way up to the knight's platform.

"Excuse me" The goblin said holding out a letter. "For Sir Pepsi."

"That's Jessie" Jessie growled. The goblin hunched his shoulders, looked side to side, and then ran off into the crowd. "Stupid goblin." Jessie tore open the letter and read the letter. Her eyebrow twitched.

"I'll see ya later, Jess" Pheon'a said. Jessie gave Pheon'a a leering look as the Fiery knight bounced away. Jessie looked at the letter in her hands and crumbled it as she made a fist.

"God damn it!" Jessie screamed. The handful of people who were still leaving Somai Field stared at her as she stormed towards the stables. The crowd was almost out of Somai Field when they caught Jessie racing towards the castle on her black horse.

Jessie leapt off of Aftiel at the castle doors and threw the reigns at one of the guards. She stormed into the castle with the aura of a hurricane. Expecting to find the king in the throne room, she headed there first. The room was empty and clean. A goblin servant entered the room with an armload of fabrics.

"Where's the king?" Jessie growled.

"Would you like me to let him know you're here?" The goblin asked. Jessie picked the small goblin up by his shirt, spilling the fabrics across the floor.

"Tell me where he is or I will personally throw you into the Bog of Eternal Stench" Jessie said through clenched teeth. If she had been full blooded Ama'sovai her eyes would have been glowing red like coals.

"Jessie!" Jareth bellowed from behind her. Jessie dropped the goblin and turned to face the king. The goblin picked up the fabric bolts and ran off. "Why didn't you have yourself announced?"

Jessie walked up to Jareth until she was only inches from him. The letter was still in her fist. She raised it up. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Are you questioning my authority?" Jareth growled.

"I refuse to take this ludicrous mission" Jessie said. Anger flared in the king's mismatched eyes. In a swift gesture he had her by the collar, which incidentally was her shirt, armor, and cape. He dragged her through the hallways of his castle as if she weighed no more then a feather. "Let me go!"

"Certainly" Jareth said opening a thick wooden door. He shoved her in and candidly followed her, locking the door behind him. Jessie, who looked exactly how she felt, tired and angry, paced the room as a large cat might; Jareth matched her pacing.

Neither one of them talked until Jessie went over to the fireplace; with a flick of the wrist, she chucked the letter into the fire. She turned to Jareth and straightened out her armor.

"I will not take that mission" Jessie said.

"It won't take you long" Jareth said.

"Three months is longer then I can take" Jessie replied.

"It needs to be done" Jareth said with an irritated voice.

"Then send your goblins to do it!" Jessie said vehemently. She took a step towards Jareth and gestured wildly with her hands. "I am not your personal knight!"

"I am the king!" Jareth yelled back fiercely. "I have rule over everyone in my kingdom and that includes you!" Jessie allowed her lip to twitch. "You will go on this mission of mine. You will meet up with everyone I want you to. You will do this the day after the Vakkijnor Festival."

"I have knights to train" Jessie said.

"Sir Mirya Rayn is perfectly capable of such a feat" Jareth growled.

"I am not ready for three more months of nothing but work" Jessie retorted.

"Three months is nothing" Jareth said. He moved over to a small side table that held glasses and a decanter of peach wine. He poured himself a glass.

"It's nothing when you spend your free time drinking peach wine and imported ruach" Jessie replied. Jareth spun around fast enough that it almost didn't register. The glass of wine shattered against the fireplace having just skimmed past Jessie's head.

"How dare you!" Jareth snarled.

"You promised to give me time off!" Jessie quipped furiously. Jareth formed several crystals and allowed them to float around him.

"I'm rebuking that" Jareth said. As his temper grew, the faster the crystals spun around him. Jessie narrowed her eyes trying to figure out what he meant to do. "You will go on this mission, you will leave tomorrow, and I will send two of my men with you." The crystals flew towards her. Jessie had to jump and duck, slipping, to avoid being hit by the glass orbs. Jareth was standing over her by the time the last crystal smashed into a suit of armor. "Am I understood?"

"Crystal clear" Jessie said. She stood up from the floor, ignoring the king's offered hand, and pulled her cape around her. She stepped away from the king and walked towards the door.

"Get a good nights rest" Jareth called after her. The door lock clicked open and Jessie made sure to slam it shut with all the affection she could muster. Storming out, just as she stormed in, she found the guard at the front door still holding Aftiel's reins.

"Idiot" Jessie muttered. She fiddled with her belt and felt the metal emblem of the Knights of the Labyrinth fall into her hands. She held it out to the goblin while taking Aftiel's reins. "Count to one hundred, then give that to the king. You got that?"

"Yep" The goblin said. Jessie mounted Aftiel. "One, seven, forty-six, two—"

"You're counting wrong stupid!" The soldier on the other side of the door said. "It's one, nine, fourteen, sixty—"

"I know how to count" The goblin with the emblem said.

"Just give that to the king" Jessie said before racing away on her horse. Jessie had no intention of going on Jareth's ridiculous mission of diplomacy to the kingdom of the Modsognir dwarves. After the first two hundred years of Jareth's reign, they wanted nothing to do with the Labyrinth and were known to kill any knight or soldier from the Labyrinth.

Jessie stopped by the stables to grab two sacks of feed, a five-pound bag of hay, and a few brushes for Aftiel. She went straight to her cottage after that, grabbing only a small amount of things. She was on her way out of the Goblin City taking Siccare Path, the narrowest way out of the Labyrinth. She was heading north, straight for the Desert of Thirteen Madmen.

By the time the moon was directly overhead Jessie and Aftiel had set up camp five dunes into the desert. They were close enough to the Labyrinth that it was still in sight, but they were now out of the borders of the kingdom. Aftiel munched on the hay while Jessie sat in the sand smoking her pipe, which was filled with the potent fairyweed.

"Fifty-seven, four, ninety-nine, one hundred!" The two goblins happily said together. The goblin with the metal emblem held it up. "I have to go give this to the king. I'll be back."

The goblin soldier waddled into the throne room and stopped when a goblin servant came into the throne room.

"Can I help you?" The servant asked.

"I's is supposed to give this to the king" The goblin soldier said holding up the emblem. "I think it's important."

"Is it metal?" The servant asked.

"Yeah and shiny, too!" The soldier said.

"It must be important then" The servant replied. The servant gestured for the soldier to follow. They walked all through the castle until they came to a set of heavy double doors. The servant knocked and waited. It took several minutes before the door was opened. The king stood before them in his royal pajamas and overly long, flowing robe.

"What is it?" Jareth said grumpily.

"We found a piece of metal" The servant said. "We think it's important."

"Just like how that metal pot you found was 'important'?" Jareth asked. The goblin guard held out the metal emblem. The shape and type of metal caught Jareth's attention. He snatched it from the goblin and almost instantly frowned. "Where did you find this?"

"A girl gave it to me" The guard said proudly.

"What girl?" Jareth asked. The guard made a few faces and scratched his head before shrugging. "Have someone go to The Court and have Sir Mirya Rayn here at once." The two goblins stood there. "I said do it!"

The goblins scampered away. Jareth's jaw was tense and he ran his thumb over the round piece of metal. It was Jessie's. It used to be anyway. Handing over your emblem was the same thing as a cop turning in his badge and gun. It meant resignation.

Jareth pocketed the emblem and went to his throne room.

It only took fifteen minutes before Sir Mirya Rayn was in the throne room. Everyone else was ordered out.

"I appreciate your coming" Jareth said. "Sorry about the hour."

"No problem, your majesty" Mirya replied. Her appearance suggested that she had dressed in the dark.

"There is a problem" Jareth said. Jareth placed his chin in his right hand and with his other hand pulled out the emblem. He rubbed his thumb over the emblem before leaning forward to hold it out to Mirya. "I believe that's yours now."

Mirya stared at the emblem and held it back out to the king. "I don't accept it." Jareth took it. "She must have dropped it or something."

"She gave it to one of my guards" Jareth said. "I wanted to know if she consulted with you before she had left."

"She did not" Mirya said.

"If you don't want this, then should I have it sent to the Council Hall?" Jareth asked.

"No" Mirya replied. Mirya looked around. "Is there some place a little more private where we can talk?"

"Yes" Jareth said. He formed a crystal that grew large enough to contain the two of them. A white light illuminated the crystal and then suddenly the light was gone. Jareth and Mirya stood on the roof of a low turret. "Is this alright?"

"Yes" Mirya said. Jareth leaned against the stone siding. "I can't believe she left. I know she was starting to loose it, but I thought she'd hold it together until the festival was over."

"I had suspended her vacation by three months" Jareth said solemnly.

"That would explain things" Mirya said. The two just watched as the city below was still wild with the festival spirit. "Hang on to the emblem until we find her."

"You plan on giving it back to her?" Jareth asked disbelieving the elf before him.

"I have never served under such a great leader as her. I wouldn't dare take her place until I have her blessing or until she, herself, gives it to me" Mirya stated.

"The others will notice her absence soon" Jareth replied. "What will you tell them?"

Mirya narrowed her eyes as she thought about it. "I will tell them that she was order to take her vacation now."

"Oh really?" Jareth said. "Ordered by whom?"

"By you, sire" Mirya replied. "That is, as long as it is fine by you."

"You're asking me to lie to the entire Council of Knights and to the entire populous of Goblin City just to assure her rank as elder?" Jareth asked. Lying directly to the Council would mean termination and revocation of knighthood. Mirya nodded. "Your loyalty is commendable, Sir Mirya Rayn." Jareth looked down at the city as his troops tried to subdue a small bar fight. "I will go along with your plan."

"Thank you, your majesty" Mirya said.

"The plan will be that I sent her away for vacation" Jareth said.

"What if they ask where she went?" Mirya asked.

"She'd want it to be kept a secret" Jareth said. "And, that's what we'll tell them." Jareth held up the emblem. "I will hang onto this. Don't tell anyone about it."

"I won't" Mirya replied.

"If anyone asks why she was sent away, tell them that she was indeed 'loosing it'. The others will accept that, won't they?" Jareth asked. Mirya simply nodded. "Good. I will find her, Sir Mirya."

"What about tomorrow?" Mirya asked. "You will need to talk to the Council about this."

"I have something in mind" Jareth replied. He put the emblem into his pocket and turned to Mirya. He formed another crystal and in a blink they were both back in the throne room. "Get some rest. I'll handle things tomorrow."

"Yes, sire" Mirya said. She bowed slightly. "Good night."

"Good night" Jareth said.

The next day, the third and last day of the Vakkijnors Festival, the knights were in an uproar over Jessie's unscripted departure. The third day being a very important day, all of the elders were to sit and watch the battles, retire to the Council Hall until they made a decision, and choose the top forty warriors. Mirya stepped in to take Jessie's place assuring the others that the king had called for her very late last night to explain things.

As the horns blew and the citizens settled down in the large bleachers, the knights pulled themselves together. The warriors, who would be battling, were given armor and heavy duty practice weapons. Each warrior, when their time came for battle, would take whatever they wanted as long as they could carry and use both without putting one down. So a two handed sword and a staff would be impractical, whereas a whip and a rapier could be useful together.

The judging of the battles was very similar to a fencing match. Two judges watched each warrior. If a tag were made, the maestro of the match would declare if he agreed with the judges. If the judges called what they thought was a tag but really wasn't, the maestro could have the match continue.

Each warrior faced all the rest, one on one. Ten battles were going at a time leaving the crowd raging with energy at the spectacle before them. The warrior who lost three times in a row was subjected to sitting under a covered bench, something that looked similar to a baseball dugout, to avoid the splatter of food, animals, and feces from the crowd. Even though each battle lasted a couple of minutes, it took hours before everyone had battled each other.

Jessie awoke with the sun illuminating her entire tent. She groaned and put her sunglasses on. She dressed and made sure her cloak was closed around her. Despite the growing heat, Jessie dawned a long blood red scarf that kept the sun off most of her face. Before she opened the tent, she put on her large brimmed hat.

She stepped out and immediately noticed the change. The dune had changed its shape and she could no longer see the Labyrinth. Looking around, there was one other thing that was incredibly wrong.

"Aftiel!" Jessie bellowed. The desert was a dangerous place to be. It was said to have swallowed entire caravans. Shaitans, evil malicious djinn, wandered the desert. Jessie picked up everything she could carry and climbed the top of the dune. "Aftiel!"

The black stallion was nowhere in sight. When she looked back where her camp had been, it was gone. Jessie took off in the direction she had wanted to go from the camp. She wanted to cross five dunes and see the stone wall of the Labyrinth or the trees of the Fiery Forest or something.

"Shit" Jessie finally said after three dunes. She was dripping with sweat from the heat. She took out her canteen and took a swig of water. It was only half full now. Aftiel had been carrying the food and water.

The lack of shade was enough to make anyone feel like fruit being set out to dry.

By late afternoon, the forty knights had been selected. The city fell into its last night of celebration by dusk with the latest knights joining in the fun. The king, who had spent his day trying to locate Jessie through his crystals, had come up short and ordered the elders to his castle.

When they all arrived, Jareth moved them all into his study.

"I'm pleased you all showed up" Jareth said. He was gazing into a beach ball size crystal that gently floated above a golden pedestal. "I need to talk to you all about Sir Jessie's recent departure."

"We heard she went mad" Sir Alexa said.

"She was angry, but she's not a loon" Jareth said. He crossed his arms and leaned against the edge of his desk. "I sent her away for a much needed vacation."

"Where did she go?" Sir Aulus asked.

"She asked me not to share that" Jareth replied.

"Why does she get a vacation?" Sir Hugo fumed. The small faery walked over to the couch, with a poof of glitter he grew to five and a half feet, and sat down. "We work just as hard as she does."

"Her breaking point was reached" Jareth replied. "It's that simple." Sir Mirya Rayn leaned against the fireplace. Jareth nodded to her. "As you know, Sir Mirya Rayn will take Jessie's place until she comes back."

"When will that be?" Sir Aulus asked.

"Soon" Jareth said. "She won't be gone for more then two weeks."

"Why weren't we notified about this?" Sir Don Carlos, a dark elf, asked. "Is there something to be hidden from us?"

"Certainly not" Jareth assured them. "I just didn't want to disrupt the festival. Speaking of which, how did it turn out? Did you receive all the warriors you needed?"

"Our results were satisfactory" Sir Zill Raa replied. "We even have a group that will stay for training."

"Yes, from what I hear, there are even applicants for the medical and magic schools" Sir Pheon'a reported.

"That's wonderful" Jareth said. Jareth stood up straight and walked over to a window. "You're all dismissed. I only wanted you to know what happened to Sir Jessie."

The knights departed except for Sir Mirya. She cleared her throat to let the king know she was still there.

"Yes?" Jareth asked.

"Have you found her?" Mirya asked. Jareth's head gave an involuntarily jerk.

"No" Jareth said. "Where ever she is, she is not in my Labyrinth."

"How should we look for her without the others finding out?" Mirya asked.

"I have ways" Jareth replied. He shook his wrist towards the door. "Leave me. Go relax for the rest of the night. You need it as much as any other knight."

"Yes sire" Mirya said quickly leaving. Jareth took a deep breath and turned towards his large floating crystal. He had searched all day for Jessie. An idea came to him and he waved his hands over the crystal. He smiled when he saw the black stallion in the crystal. Aftiel was hysterically trying to get into the Labyrinth. The horse reared up and slammed its hooves against the door, then turned and kicked the door with its rear legs.

"Aftiel" Jareth whispered. He waved his hand again and the horse was transported to The Court. Jareth returned the crystal view back to the northern entrance to the Labyrinth. No one could be seen. Jareth hung his head. "Let her be safe."

By the time night rolled around, the desert had cooled and Jessie could see the trees of the Fiery Forest in the far distance. The desert winds picked up until a small sand storm had started. Jessie trudged along.

The dune Jessie was crossing moved. The ridge of sand before her grew to great heights in a matter of seconds, stopping her in her tracks. Sharp laughter echoed around her until a womanly form emerged from the sand.

"Who are you?" Jessie asked. The woman hissed and seemed to sink into the sand. "I'm just a traveler. I mean no harm." Bursts of sand erupted in a circle around Jessie. "What do you want?"

"What are you doing in our desert?" A voice hissed.

"I'm just trying to get to those trees" Jessie said. "Nothing more."

"You had the horse" The voice stated. "You may cross if we can have the horse."

"He ran off" Jessie said. "But, I wouldn't give him to you if he was here."

A loud half-hiss, half-scream rang off of the dunes. Jessie took the chance to run up to the top of the dune. Wind and sand swirled around her until an invisible force tripped her. The invisible hand dragged her back down to the bottom of the dune.

Out of instinct, Jessie hissed and bared her fangs. The wind stopped again.

"She is not fae" A voice said.

"She is Ama'sovai" Another voice said.

"We are in service to the Ama'sovai" The first voice said.

"Then let me pass to the forest" Jessie said. The invisible forces knocked her onto her stomach and drug her by her feet until she was near the forest. The sand had rubbed away a few layers of her skin on her cheeks and had forced her nose to bleed.

When the force stopped, Jessie grunted and picked herself up to her hands and knees. She wiped at her nose just before the force picked her up.

"Never enter our desert again" The voice ordered. The invisible force, the Shaitans, threw her towards the forest.

Jessie fell through the trees and the brush until she collided with the hard forest floor. Bruised would be understating the sustained damage. She tried to crawl, but her body, now broken, hurt too much. In the midst of her pain she gave the loudest cry she could muster.


	5. Chapter 4: The Green Man of Hillcrest

Chapter Four – The Green Man of Hillcrest

Jessie awoke from her state of unconsciousness with pain shooting through her body. A pair of hands was firmly settled on her broken leg. A deep, calming voiced shushed her remarks of pain. Jessie had been rolled onto her back and, as she noticed, had been moved to a small camp.

"Where am I?" Jessie asked. The strange man before her simply smiled and continued to do whatever it was he was doing. Jessie tried to take in his appearance, but all she could focus on was his green, wood-like arms and his beard. "Who are you?"

"Rest now" The green man said. Charmed by his soothing voice, Jessie's head rolled to the side as she fell into a deep sleep.

Jareth watched as the knights took care of Aftiel. The horse had food and water attached to his saddle. He barely allowed the other knights to touch him. He was still hysterical from the night before.

His crystals were starting to fail him. When he tried to find Jessie, they would only show him a tree stump or a log, but were essentially not being useful. Thoughts of dismay circled his head. How he could have lost his favorite knight was inspiration for his brain to become very anxious.

"Captain!" Jareth bellowed. It only took minutes for an armor-encrusted goblin to appear. "I want a small group to form a search party. You are to go along the outer wall that faced the desert."

"Who are we searching for?" The captain asked.

"Her" Jareth said tossing a crystal towards the captain. The guard caught it and it turned into a photograph. "If you cannot find her, then try to find out what happened to her."

"She went to the desert?" The captain asked with a slight tremor in his voice.

"I believe she did" Jareth replied.

"The djinn" The captain said. "Your majesty, the djinn must have gotten her."

"Quiet!" Jareth snapped. "I believe she is still alive. Now GO FIND HER!"

The goblin scampered out of the throne room faster then Jareth could recall a goblin ever moving.

Jareth left his throne and went over to the balcony that sat across from his throne. He hadn't even bothered to change into real clothes. He was wrapped in his robe and pajamas. The sun was shining brightly down on the Labyrinth. Jareth's shoulders slumped at the thought of the desert. It would be unbearable for any creature and it would be deadly for Jessie.

Jareth tried conjuring up another searching crystal. The results were the same, only there were two logs now. He narrowed his eyes and watched as one of the logs stood straight up.

"Dryads?" Jareth questioned. He angrily threw the crystal from his balcony and turned into an owl, choosing the form of a Great Horned Owl.

The new squires had been divided into four groups of eight and one group of nine, since Squire Marcus Ghivae joined them. Sir Pheon'a Ch'a was drilling a group of eight as they ran through an obstacle course.

"C'mon my little squires!" Pheon'a called to them. "Pick up the pace or I'll start taking ears and feet!" Pheon'a watched as a Great Horned Owl swooped down to the ground beside her. The owl transformed into the king. A few of the passing squires slowed their pace with wide eyes. "Keep running, squire!" Pheon'a turned to the king and bowed. "Welcome, your majesty."

Jareth produced a crystal and handed it over to her. "What do you make of that?"

Pheon'a looked into the crystal and only saw two logs. She watched, expecting to see something else. One of the logs, though, grew a branch. It just simply appeared.

"I know who this is" Pheon'a replied. "I ran into him a very long time ago." She handed the crystal over to Jareth. "He is the green man of Hillcrest."

"Why have I not heard of him?" Jareth asked.

"You stay in your castle, sire" Pheon'a said. Jareth's eyes were wild. "My apologies, but that is the only reason I can think of."

"Have you heard about Aftiel, Jessie's stallion?" Jareth asked.

"No" Pheon'a replied. "What happened?"

"I found him hysterical last night" Jareth said. "He was at the North gate of the Labyrinth. I sent him to The Court and a few knights took care of him. Jessie was nowhere to be found."

"She went out to the desert for her vacation?" Pheon'a asked incredulously.

"No. Her horse just ended up there" Jareth said. "Look, the point is, she is lost. Aftiel was carrying her food and water. And, even if she did go through the desert, she is still alive. Otherwise my crystals would be black."

"I can take a team out to Hillcrest" Pheon'a said.

"Will this green man hurt her?" Jareth asked. He was looking into the crystal at the two logs.

"I don't believe so" Pheon'a replied. "He's usually peaceful. He might become overly attached though."

"Overly attached?" Jareth asked.

"He's a bit demented" Pheon'a said. She sighed and flicked her bright red hair from her face. "He means well, but he's like a child. He can carry around a dead animal like a doll and still believe that it's alive."

"Go find her" Jareth replied. "Take these squires. Get her away from the green man."

"I can't just leave now" Pheon'a said. "I will try to leave as soon as I can though, as long as you do me a favor."

"Which is?" Jareth asked.

"Watch these guys" Pheon'a replied. "If you want me to leave, then I need to go make some arrangements."

"What are you having them do today?" Jareth asked.

"Endurance, strength, and agility tests" Pheon'a said. She looked out at the squires as they ran their last lap around the obstacle course. There was a flash of light to her left. Jareth had changed into his usual attire of boots, tights, vest, a poet's shirt, and his armored jacket.

"I can handle this" Jareth replied. Pheon'a smiled and gave a loud whistle. Everyone stopped and formed into a single line before them.

"Young squires, I would like to introduce you to his royal highness, King Jareth" Pheon'a said. "I have some business I need to attend to. The king has been gracious enough to step in as your instructor." Pheon'a stepped back and bowed to the king. "Good luck, your majesty."

Pheon'a bounced off towards the Council Hall. Jareth turned towards the eight squires. They looked expectantly at the king.

"Have you been to the forest course?" Jareth asked. Heads shook 'no'. "Well then, let's gets moving."

By early evening, Jessie was able to move her hands to her face. The green man was moving, carrying her as if she weighed nothing. When she felt her face blisters and cracked skin under her fingers she cringed.

"I could not stop that from happening" The large green man said in a deep, earthy voice.

"I need something to eat" Jessie said. "Do my legs work?"

"I think they might" The green man replied. "Would you like an apple?"

"No thanks" Jessie said. "If my legs work, then put me down." The green man set her down. "Thanks."

"Where are my things?" Jessie asked looking down at herself. The green man smiled.

"I am carrying them" He replied.

"I need my sword" Jessie said. "This is a dangerous forest. I'd feel better with it."

The green man pulled the sword out of a bag that was barely noticeable on his back. Jessie strapped it on and took off into the woods. The green man called after her, but Jessie ignored him. A rabbit quickly hopped by. The scent of fresh blood, the pounding of the heart, it sent Jessie into a fit of bestial hunger. Jessie took her sword out and went to stab the animal, but an invisible barrier came between her sword and the rabbit.

A loud bellow came from the green man. Jessie turned around and found the tree-skinned man only inches from her. He reached out and picked her up.

"You must be punished for this" The green man said angrily. Jessie tried twisting out of his grip.

"I'm part Ama'sovai" Jessie growled. "I need blood."

"The Ama'sovai were almost completely wiped out" The green man said. "I saw the massacre. Thus, you are lying."

"Why would I lie about something like that?" Jessie screamed. "Put me down." The green man just trudged through the forest. "Put me down right now!"

"Quiet" The green man said.

"I am Sir Jessie Cardemus, General" Jessie said. "Put. Me. Down."

The green man stopped and looked her over. "I have not seen any indication that you are a knight, much less a general. In fact, you have the ears of Mann."

"I told you" Jessie said. "I am only part Ama'sovai." With one hand, Jessie reached out and pulled hard on the green man's beard until his face was near hers. "I appreciate your help, but I cannot give you much of anything in return. If you want my dagger, then take it." Jessie tightened her grip on his beard until he made a face. "Let me go and take three steps back, green man."

The green man growled and dropped her. He took three steps back and stood in a very defensive stance. Jessie stood up and bared her fangs. She stepped back so she was near a large oak tree. She picked up a handful of acorns all the while keeping an eye on the green man.

"What are you doing with those?" The green man asked.

"This" Jessie replied. "_Glandis_ _invenire propinqua urbis._"

The acorns spun around and quickly shot off all together in one direction. Racing to keep up with them, Jessie jumped and dodged logs and branches. Behind her, the green man seemed to be raging. Jessie pushed herself until she saw the town of Hillcrest. The acorns, having reached their destination, stopped moving and fell to the ground. Jessie moved to pick them up while catching her breath.

Jessie moved into the shadow of the building and watched as the green man stopped at the tree line. He threw her stuff into a puddle of mud and disappeared into the forest.

"Bastard" Jessie whispered. She reclaimed her things and immediately put her scarf and hat on. She walked around Hillcrest until she found an inn.

A brass bell rang when she opened the door. Two men were by the fireplace smoking, the innkeeper was at the front desk, and a dwarf woman carried a basket of laundry.

"Can I help you, traveler?" The innkeeper asked.

"I need a room" Jessie said. She took out a small leather pouch. "How much?"

"Four silver pieces a night" The innkeeper replied. Jessie looked through her pouch. She had about ten gold pieces and hordes of copper pieces, but no silver. She took out a gold piece. "This will pay for five nights."

"Good. I'll stay five nights then" Jessie said. The innkeeper handed her a heavy key to room five. "Thanks. Do not disturb me."


	6. Chapter 5: Late Night Exploits

Chapter Five – Late Night Exploits

Jessie slept for two days until she woke with an uncontainable hunger, the bloodlust. Not thinking as clearly as she usually did, she left her room. She stayed in the shadows of Hillcrest and stalked a drunkard who came out of a bar stumbling like a man just off a ship.

When he turned down a deserted road, he barely had time to register his attack. Jessie seized him by the back of his coat and drug him into an alley. His screams were silenced by Jessie's hand. Without a single word of remorse she tore into his neck drinking the fresh hot blood.

The salty rich taste of fae blood emitted a low groan from Jessie. She had been living off of small rodents since she had gotten into the Labyrinth. Actual blood from a more sophisticated being was one hundred times better.

When she had her fill Jessie broke the drunk's neck and allowed him to fall into a heap. Her skin tingled as it started to rejuvenate and fix itself.

"Now to get cleaned up" Jessie whispered to herself.

Returning to her room, Jessie filled her tub with steaming water and even allowed herself to enjoy the aroma of the complimentary bath salts, which were lavender scented. She reclined against the tub and closed her eyes. She had left the window open and she could hear the noises from the pub, the crickets, and the growing sound of horses.

It took a minute to register the sound, but she was immediately sitting up in the tub. She quietly listened, as the horses grew closer.

"Jareth" Jessie whispered. She stood up and climbed out of the tub. She pulled on her robe and went out to the bedroom to dress. Just as she opened her bag a white owl landed on her open windowsill.

"You look like you're about to leave" Jareth said changing into his elven form.

"I might be" Jessie said tartly. Jareth took a few steps towards her. He was wearing light grey suede, which appeared almost white in the moonlight. Jessie went back to pulling out clothes, to wear, from her bag.

"We need you to come back" Jareth said. Jessie gave a loud 'hmph' and continued pulling out things to wear.

"What's the matter? Your goblins can't handle actual work?" Jessie quipped.

"Stop and look at me" Jareth said. Jessie turned away from him and started putting a pair of socks on. The king made a disapproving sound and forcefully turned her around. "I'm tired of this." He pulled her up face to face with him. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Jareth sighed and looked her square in the eyes. "I was worried about you."

"Who are you kidding?" Jessie whispered harshly. "You barely worry about anything other then your power and yourself."

"I was worried about you" Jareth said in a firmer tone. He didn't loosen his grip as he went on. "When I found Aftiel at the north gate, I thought the worst."

"Aftiel is alive?" Jessie asked. Jareth nodded.

"He's been hysterical since I've found him" Jareth replied. He set Jessie on the floor and moved his hands to hold her face. "I was truly worried about you."

Jessie turned her head away and ran a hand through her hair. "Right." She put her socks on and stood up. "Worried that Goblin City would turn into one big bar fight."

"Damn you" Jareth said. He pulled her to him and gave her a quick kiss. She had a surprised looked on her face when he pulled away from her. "I missed you. With the desert sun I wasn't even sure if you were alive."

Jessie pushed Jareth away and picked up her clothes. She headed towards the bathroom.

"Where are you going?" Jareth asked.

"I'm going to change" Jessie said in an angry voice. She turned around before closing the bathroom door. "Please don't do that again."

It only took her a few minutes to dress. She came out of the bathroom in an unchecked poet's shirt, tight black pants, and her usual riding boots. Jareth was sitting next to her things on the bed.

"So what do you want?" Jessie asked shoving the rest of her things into her bag.

"I know what you intended" Jareth said leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees. "I told Sir Mirya and she refused your rank. No one else knows that you turned over your rank."

"Are they idiots?" Jessie asked.

"We've kept it a secret" Jareth replied. He pulled out the emblem from a pouch on his belt. He held it out to her. "I brought it to you." Jessie took it and ran her fingers over it. "No one wants you to leave. There are new squires, new students at the magic and medical schools, and, quite frankly, they need you. They need you to help train them."

Jessie pocketed the emblem.

"So you just expect me to go back?" Jessie asked. Jareth stood up and paced while she closed her bag. "I'm not going back yet."

"You have resp—" Jareth said.

"No!" Jessie yelled. "Right now, I am trying to stay away from the knights, the goblins, and you! You can't expect me to work non-stop for all these years without taking some personal time!"

"Your personal time will be allotted soon!" Jareth yelled back.

"It will be allotted now!" Jessie said. Jareth stalked around Jessie until he had her backed up into the corner of the room.

"Listen up, sweetie" Jareth growled into her ear. "We are spending the night here. You will come back with us tomorrow if you want any type of vacation whatsoever. You will train these squires. Once they are knighted, we will go on vacation. I won't have you go to the Modsognir, that's already been taken care of. I'll take you anywhere you want to go. I promised that."

"I quit" Jessie said. "You can take my emblem back. I don't want to be a knight anymore. I don't think I can handle it."

Jareth moved her chin so he was looking into her eyes. "You're a strong woman. You can handle anything." His hand moved back to cup her neck. "It won't take long to train these men. I've watched them they are all quite good. Do this. Do this for me."

"Do this for you?" Jessie questioned. "What do you get out of this?"

"I get you" Jareth said as if it was obvious. Jessie snorted and crossed her arms.

"I think you're getting gypped on the deal" Jessie said. Jareth gave her a big smile.

"I think I'm getting the best part" Jareth said. He leaned forward so his cheek was next to hers. "You see, while you are back, training your troops, I plan on courting you."

"What?" Jessie asked disbelievingly. She tried moving away, but Jareth kept her in place. He stepped in and kissed her once again.

"I'm staying here all night" Jareth said. "I don't want you running off again."

"You ass---!" Jessie said. The sound of her voice cut out when Jareth raised his hand, the results being his own magical mute button. Jessie stopped her ranting and soundlessly screamed. Jareth used to do that when her temper rose as a teenager. He took a spot on the bed and watched Jessie pace from the bathroom to the bedroom and back again.

"Darling, when you're done why don't you come to bed?" Jareth called to her. She slammed the bathroom door shut as a response. The king simply chuckled and conjured up the novel he was in the middle of reading.

Jareth tried waking Jessie up early the next morning. She had spent the night sleeping in a wicker chair near the window. Jessie mumbled something and went back to sleeping in an uncomfortable position that would result in a painful neck-ache. Jareth sighed and picked her up. He placed her on the bed and went about the room getting her things packed away.

Three hours later, Jareth shook Jessie until she awoke.

"We need to get going if we're going to make it to Crossroad Junction" Jareth said. Jessie turned away from him.

"I'm paid up for another two days" Jessie said. "Can't we just stay here for two days?"

"Get out of the bed or I'll drop you into a tub of ice cold water" Jareth said. "I've already packed your things. Change clothes and get ready. We're leaving in twenty minutes."

Jareth left the room and Jessie rolled onto her back. She was very used to keeping strange hours, but those strange hours were always between dusk and dawn. Forcing herself to roll off of the bed, she stood after falling to her hands and knees on the cool floor.

She quickly dressed in the clothes the king had laid out for her, which was very similar to what he was wearing; black tights, black vest, and white poet's shirt. He had even pulled out a pair of black gloves. Jessie finished by putting on her cape, scarf, and weapons.

Outside, a group of seven squires were waiting along with Jareth on horses. A stable boy held the reins to a saddled horse. He gave them to Jessie after she mounted the horse.

"Thank you for being timely" Jareth said. Jessie put on her sunglasses and fixed her emblem back into its place on her belt.

"Lets move" Jessie growled. "I don't like the sun too much."

Jessie didn't wait for the others. She had her horse go into a full gallop towards the south road.

The further the company rode into the Fiery Forest, the darker it became. The trees canopied enough to block most of the sunlight. Sounds came from the woods that were foreign in the Goblin City.

Sir Jessie and the king rode point while the squires followed.

"There only needs to be one person riding point" Jessie said.

"I thought we could talk" Jareth replied. A howl emerged from the forest causing the horses to respond in a spooked tone. "What the hell is that?"

"Halt!" Jessie said with a raised hand. The riders all stopped. Jessie drew her sword. The squires followed her example. "Everyone, en guard!"

The forest was disturbingly quiet, except for the distant sound of twigs breaking.

"What is it?" One of the squires asked. Another howl, closer and louder, came from the woods.

"It's Ce Sith" Jessie replied. "They travel in packs of three while hunting. Be ready."

The group prepared themselves for the appearance of the legendary beasts. There was not a single sound for nearly thirty seconds, though it seemed longer. A bush moved and a flock of songbirds flew into the sky.

The Ce Sith jumped out of the woods blocking both ends of the road. The cow-sized dogs had fur that was so green it was nearly black. Their eyes were a golden yellow and their teeth were as sharp as any blade. Their tails awkwardly swished back and forth. The Ce Sith, with their overly long tails, usually allowed them to become matted into the hair on their backs.

The three Ce Sith slowly closed in around the group.

"Fight!" Jessie ordered. The knights charged the three beasts at once. Even Jareth was fighting. Jessie dismounted and walked straight up to one of the Ce Sith. Two squires were trying to kill it with their swords, but their fear was getting the best of them.

The beast looked at Jessie and growled. Jessie growled back and with one motion sliced its head off. The two squires remained still for a second.

"That" Jessie said. "Is how it's done."

"We could use some help!" Jareth called. The other two Ce Sith were trying to take out the horses.

"Your majesty, take the others away from here!" Jessie called. "I'll deal with this."

"You're mad!" Jareth yelled. Jessie walked over to the ce sith.

"It's an order!" Jessie bellowed. The squires dropped back while Jessie stood before the two ce sith. The two beasts were trying to grasp what was going on. Jessie pulled out a dagger and readied herself.

"Everyone back 300 meters" Jareth said. The squires followed his orders just as the ce sith decided to attack.

Jessie stabbed the smaller one through the neck while being knocked over by the larger beast. She turned over just before feeling the sharp teeth bite into her shoulder. She let out a blood-curling scream and tried to kick the animal off of her.

The ce sith shook its head and with it, her shoulder. Gripping her sword, she ran the blade through the beast's stomach. The ce sith howled and moved off of her. The beasts stumbled around until it fell over. The smaller beast was lying on its side trying to gasp for air. Blood spurted out from the neck wound.

Jessie moved to retrieve her dagger. The animal cried as the dagger was pulled from its neck. Jessie stuck the dagger deep into the ce sith's head, killing it. The other ce sith looked dead, but the chest still filled with air. Jessie moved to stand near its head. The beast snapped at her as best as it could.

"Bastard" Jessie said. She sunk down next to the beast, plunging the dagger into the animal's head as well. Jareth and the squires returned as Jessie wiped her blades clean and drew her cloak fully around herself.

"Are you alright?" Jareth asked. Jessie repositioned her scarf and mounted her horse.

"Sure" Jessie said. The ce sith released a poison with their bite, like a snake. Jessie could feel it. It burned.

"Are you bleeding?" Jareth asked. Jessie signaled for the group to move. "I asked if you are bleeding."

"It's just a scratch" Jessie replied.

"Right. Well let me know if that scratch starts to burn" Jareth said. "You know how deadly the poison of theirs is."

"Yep" Jessie said.

"I'm riding point" Jareth replied. He took off for the head of the group. Once he was gone, Jessie touched her shoulder and felt a hard form in her flesh. She gripped it and pulled out a large tooth.

Two hours later, the team pulled up alongside a caravan of travelers. There were four covered wagons, numerous tents, and horses tethered to trees. The group was mainly composed of dark elves and dwarves.

"We'll camp here tonight" Jareth ordered. "Place your horses together."

He waited for all seven squires and for Sir Jessie to come around the bend. The last squire was accounted for, but Jessie was not. Jareth walked his horse towards the bend, just as the sound of slow walking hooves sounded.

"Jessie?" Jareth called. The horse came around the bend with its rider collapsed against the back of the horse's neck. The horse shifted and Jessie fell off of the saddle. The horse dragged her along by her foot, which was caught in a stirrup. "Jessie!" Jareth rode over and quickly stopped the horse. He dismounted and pulled Jessie free from the saddle. Two squires quickly joined him at his side. "Take the horses."

"Yes sire" They said. Jareth checked Jessie's forehead before catching the sight of dark crimson stains along her shirt. He pushed her cloak aside and gasped at the sight. Her entire arm was soaked in blood. Blood was still oozing from the wounds.

The king picked her up and hurried to where the squires were.

"Find a doctor" Jareth ordered. The squires made a makeshift bed and started a fire. Jareth removed her cloak and shirt. The large bite marks had left some of the skin torn. Jareth looked up towards the sunny sky. "Build a tent around us! NOW!"

The squires quickly followed the order, though they did not understand. By the time the tent was up, a doctor had been found. The small dark elf hurried into the tent and knelt next to Jessie.

"Aye! What happened here?" The elf asked. He quickly dug around in his medical bag.

"We ran into three Ce Sith" Jareth said. "One of them bit her."

"How long ago?" The elf asked. He handed Jareth a rag. "Apply pressure to the wounds, please."

"Two, maybe three hours ago" Jareth said.

"And, who are you, sir?" The elf asked.

"I am King Jareth" Jareth said. "She's one of my best knights."

"King Jareth?" The elf said with disbelief. "I am Dr. Hamilton Marsh."

"I don't care who you are" Jareth snapped. "Fix her!"

The doctor quickly started getting to work. He called for a handful of herbs and flowers and quickly made them into a concoction. He sent everyone out of the tent.

"My lord" A young squire named Hershey said. Jareth stopped his pacing and glared at the young human boy. "We were wondering how it goes. It's been nearly an hour."

"Hershey" Jareth said with stress obviously quavering his voice. "Focus on getting some food cooked or something. Okay? I'll let you all know how she is, when I know."

"Yes sire" Hershey said. He made to say something else, but stopped himself.

"What?" Jareth asked.

"Is…Is this how all knights are expected to act?" Hershey asked.

"No" Jareth replied. "This is how she acts. She's reckless, stubborn, and prefers to do things her way."

"If she is wrong in her ways, then why is she an elder?" Hershey asked.

"She's good at what she does" Jareth said. A thick log had been set outside of the tent as a makeshift seat. Jareth took a deep breath and sat down. "And, she's usually right. Go get to work."

"Yes sire" Hershey said. Jareth watched as the sun started to disappear behind the trees. The whole forest seemed covered in a deep, dark blue. The doctor came out of the tent wiping his hands on a clean white rag.

"Your highness" Dr. Marsh said. "I believe she will be fine."

"The poison—" Jareth said standing up.

Dr. Marsh held up his hand. "The poison ran through her system, but I made an antiserum that should take care of the poison. She needs water and food."

"She's Ama'suvari" Jareth said. "Does she need blood?"

"Ama'suvari?" Dr. Marsh repeated. "Out here? Traveling during the day?"

"Doctor, please" Jareth said. "Does she need blood?"

"Yes" Dr. Marsh said. "She needs blood more then water and food right now. Perhaps one of the travelers here has caught a deer or something."

"Please, check doctor" Jareth said. "I will stay with her."

The doctor nodded and left the tent. Jareth disappeared into the tent. Jessie was still unconscious. The doctor had bandaged her shoulder and had covered her with a wool blanket. Jareth knelt beside her and pushed her hair from her face.

"You stubborn bitch" Jareth said. "You almost got yourself killed."

Jessie's head twitched. Jareth picked up a cool, moist rag and placed it on her head. Jessie's eyes fluttered open.

"How are you feeling?" Jareth asked. Jessie swallowed and slowly turned to look at Jareth.

"Peachy" Jessie croaked. Jareth rolled his eyes.

"We're looking for something for you to…'eat'" Jareth said. "The doctor is looking for a deer or some other animal." Jareth brushed his fingers over her cheek. "You almost died."

"I know" Jessie said in a whisper. Jessie moved her hand to cover Jareth's. She brushed her lips over his wrist.

"Jessie" Jareth whispered.

"You smell…fresh" Jessie whispered. She flicked her tongue across his wrist. Jareth jerked his hand away from her. The entrance to the tent was flung open and the doctor walked in with a rabbit. Jessie let out a low groan and moved quick enough to surprise the doctor. Without waiting for the doctor or king to leave, Jessie sunk her fangs into the animal and fell to her knees.

Jessie dropped the rabbit when she finished and rolled onto her back. She could hear the sound of blood rushing in her ears. The bite on her shoulder scabbed over in a matter of seconds.

"I need more" Jessie said as if she was out of breath. She moved her hands to button her shirt.

"You should rest right—erk" The doctor said. Jessie was up and had him by the throat in a second.

"I will hunt my own then" Jessie replied. She looked the doctor over. "Though…elf sounds better then rabbit."

"Stop it" Jareth said. Jessie let the doctor go. "If you want something I'll go get it."

"Oh yeah?" Jessie said. She walked over to her things and started putting her things back on. "How a-abou—ugh." She fell to her knees holding her stomach.

"That's the poison leaving your system" The doctor said. Jessie grimaced at the pain shooting through her. Jareth moved to kneel beside her, but the doctor stopped him. "She may lash out from the pain. She needs more blood."

"Then go get another rabbit or something" Jareth said. The doctor ran out of the tent. Jessie just growled at the sudden movement. "You'll be alright."

Jareth watched as Jessie groaned, another bought of pain sweeping her to the floor.

"Get out" Jessie growled. She moved her head and bared her teeth. "Get. Out."

The look she gave Jareth made his eyes widen. He nodded swiftly and moved to stand outside of the tent. The young squires looked over at him in worriment. It was clear that Jareth's favorite knight was in severe pain since the noise she made carried to the end of the caravan.

Doctor Marsh, along with one of the squires, rushed over to Jareth with a deer held between them.

"Donated by a man who wants the noise to stop" Doctor Marsh said. Jareth held the tent open as the limp deer was taken inside.

"Squire!" Jareth called. One of the squires left the others and came over to Jareth. "I want you to stand guard of this tent. No one but Doctor Marsh and I are allowed to go in. Understand….er…..Louis?"

"Duncan, sire" The squire said.

"Duncan" Jareth said. "I also want another squire posted on the back side of the tent. If the elder runs off, I want someone following her. Have the fastest squire ready for that."

"Where will you be if we need you, Sire?" Squire Duncan asked.

"I need to go talk to someone. I'll be back in an hour" Jareth replied. He walked towards the road and quickly changed into a hawk owl.

The hawk owl is the fastest owl Aboveground and in the Underground. Jareth reached his destination in fifteen minutes. Jareth landed before a massive building that stretched high with thick white pillars holding up the roof. Across the doorway was a plaque that read 'Council Hall'.

Jareth pushed the massive doors open and stopped when he noticed that, for once, in the last five years, the Council Hall had people inside. Drawing a feather that was long, white, and tipped with gold, Jareth held it up.

"_Penna invenire Aulus vir ac reditus_" Jareth whispered. The feather swirled off of his palm as if it was caught in the wind and quickly sped away as if it were an arrow.

It wasn't long before Sir Aulus was running after the feather that fell softly to Jareth's feet.

"Sir Aulus, I need your help" Jareth said.

"I thought you took a group of squires out to find Sir Jessie" Aulus said catching his breath.

"She has gotten herself into much trouble" Jareth replied. "I need to call one of the old gods."

"Perform the batuque?" Aulus whispered. Jareth pulled Aulus down the hall to a grand staircase that led up to the second floor, the floor of magics. "Who--? Which God are you going to call?"

"Alcyoneus" Jareth said. Jareth led the way to a locked door that led to a small hallway of conjuring rooms.

"Alcyoneus? One of the Gigantes?" Aulus asked. Jareth nodded. Aulus pressed his palm against the door and it opened as if it swung freely. "Sire, the Gigantes—"

"I've done it before, Sir Aulus" Jareth said walking into the small hall. "What I need is vial and a cup of water."

"Yes, sire" Aulus said hurrying to get the items. Jareth slid into an empty room and quickly started setting up his conjuring circle using vesta powder and graveyard dirt for his main circle. The rooms already had several items that were continually stocked, like candles, oils, stones, mirrors, and other basic spell craft items.

Jareth set candles up around him and was soon going through his belt pouches to find something of serpentine nature.

Aulus knocked on the door. "Sire, your vial and cup of water."

"Thank you, Aulus" Jareth said placing the items in the circle with him.

"I also found this" Aulus said taking a dried snake head out of a small leather pouch. Jareth accepted it and waited for Aulus to leave the small room.

Jareth took a deep breath and laid everything where it needed to be. The snake head on a small pile of graveyard dirt, the candles spread evenly around him, the vial and water were on either side of the snake head, and finally Jareth pulled out his small dagger from his belt.

Jareth whispered a chant in Latin and felt the room swell with energy. With a small cut to the wrist, Jareth's blood fell upon the snake head. The only thing left to do was wait.

The room felt like it was choking him even though it was completely empty. Jareth closed his eyes and called the name of who he was trying to reach.

"Alcyoneus!" Jareth said firmly. "I demand that you answer."

There was a hissing sound from the corners of the room. Jareth didn't look up though. He was watching as more blood from his wrist dripped onto the snake head. The dried head seemed to absorb the blood and was soon looking shiny, as if it were still attached to a serpent body. The jaw closed for a second before releasing a sudden ferocious sound, a cross between a hellish scream and a hiss.

"Alcyoneus" Jareth said.

"Why have you called me, Goblin King?" The snake said hissed.

"I am requesting your protection for a short time" Jareth replied.

"My protection" The snake repeated. Strangely, the snake head laughed a deep, guttural laugh. "I remember when you laughed at my protection."

"I need you now, Alcyoneus" Jareth said. "I need help in getting through the Fiery Forest."

The snake head was quiet for a while, almost long enough to make Jareth think that Alcyoneus had left, when the dried eyes filled out to a brilliant yellow.

"You want protection for others, Goblin King" The snake head replied. "I will give you a few drops of venom. Enough for you to use three times. If you do not use it all, return the venom to the mistletoe near your castle."

"Yes" Jareth said.

"Mix the venom with equal amounts of your blood and water" The snake head said. "The mixture will give you what you need. Just drop it onto the earth."

"I understand" Jareth said. He took the vial and the snake head released cream colored venom that filled it a quarter of the way full. "Thank you, Alcyoneus."

"You are in my debt, Goblin King" The snake head said before falling back into its original position and tincture. Jareth did as he had been told and filled the vial with blood and water. He capped it and placed it into his belt pouch. He stood up and opened the door.

Aulus stood in the hallway, waiting.

"Sir Aulus" Jareth said. "Have the room cleaned up. I need to get back before anything else happens."

"May I ask what has happened, m'lord?" Aulus asked.

"It would take too long" Jareth said. He started walking for the door. "I'll be back with the squires and London."

"Yes, sire" Aulus said as he watched Jareth storm off.

The squires had kept a close eye on the pain ridden knight at the camp. Her cries of pain had subsided after she had passed out from the pain. Night had fallen early, as it always did in the Fiery Forest.

Jareth landed on a branch and watched from his owl form, just to see what was going on. Duncan and Hershey were watching the tent. The other squires were cooking food and setting up places to sleep. He flew down to the tent and quickly transformed back to his kingly state.

"Your highness!" Duncan said startled.

"How is she?" Jareth asked.

"She passed out about twenty minutes ago" Duncan said. He scratched at one of his pointy ears and moved aside. Jareth nodded and went inside the tent.

Inside, Jessie had obviously been carried to a makeshift bed. Her weapons were across the small tent, far from her reach. The squires had found a few extra blankets that made up the bed.

Jareth squatted beside the bed and felt Jessie's forehead. She was surprisingly cool.

"London?" Jareth called softly. The dark haired knight made a grumpy noise and turned her head to the side. "London, wake up." Jessie groaned and turned towards him. Jareth pushed her hair from her face. "Hey. How are you feeling?"

"Like shit" Jessie said hoarsely. "I feel cold."

"Want to go sit outside by the fire?" Jareth asked. Jessie nodded. Her eyes widened as Jareth made the simple effort of picking her, and the heavy wool blanket, up.

The crisp air and the soft heat of the fire kept Jessie bundled up in the blanket. The Fiery Forest was known for drastic weather changes and the crisp air hinted at an oncoming storm.


	7. Chapter 6: The Seven Whistlers

Chapter 6: The Seven Whistlers

By the break of dawn, the squire's were fully prepared to depart from the caravan's campsite. Jessie had stayed awake through the night and appeared to be back to her normal self.

Jareth came out from the makeshift tent and watched his crew. Two squires were packing up food and water, which had been purchased from the people of the caravan. The others were getting ready for the long travel ahead of them by stretching and practicing their fencing.

Jareth walked to his horse and took his canteen, drinking cold water.

"A storm is coming in" Jessie said a top of her horse. Jareth mentally hit himself for not hearing her approach. He turned and watched as she raised her nose, smelling the air. "I can smell it."

"You look ready to go" Jareth said putting his water away.

"I've been ready" Jessie said. "Are you ready to leave?"

"Yes" Jareth said double checking his saddle bags. He mounted his horse and watched as Jessie turned towards the squires.

She whistled and all the squires stopped what they were doing.

"You have five minutes" Jessie ordered. "We need to leave."

The squires never protested. They followed her orders, quickly packing up the last few things and mounting their horses.

"We're heading to Cross Junction" Jareth said. "Move out."

Three hours later, further down K'Ord'Ort Road, the troupe found themselves in the middle of a down pour. The sky had become black and the only illumination came from travel lanterns and lightning. The horses traveled slowly, unsure of the dark and the sudden sound of thunder and lightning.

Jessie, riding point, said nothing to the others. Jareth rode up so he was next to her.

"We should be coming up to the old Blackburn Mill in a half hour" Jareth said. "I want to stop there. We need to get out of the rain."

"Cross Junction is only three more hours after the mill" London said sharply. "We should just keep moving. Who knows when this storm will let up."

"Look behind you" Jareth said. He pulled his soggy cape closer around his shoulders. Jessie risked a glance behind her, seeing her troops shivering and soaked to the bone. "We're all completely drenched. We'll catch our deaths out here."

"Fine" Jessie said. "We'll stop."

As the very large Blackburn Mill came into sight, the squires seemed to relax. Jessie dismounted and knocked on the front door.

"I believe the mill was abandoned a while ago" Jareth called to her. Jessie pulled a small dagger from her belt and slowly opened the door, checking out the mill.

A few minutes later, Jessie mounted her horse.

"No one is there" Jessie said. She turned to her squires. "Put your horses into the stable and take your things into the mill. Just keep a sharp eye." The squire's nodded and started walking their horses to the old, run down stable. Jareth stayed still on his horse. "Is there something wrong, your highness?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing" Jareth replied. He adjusted himself on his saddle and wiped at the rain that slid down his face. "You act as though you weren't just recently poisoned."

Jessie gestured towards the stables and they started to guide their horses towards the long stable.

"I've had worse problems then receiving flesh wounds with poison" Jessie said. She neglected to tell him that her shoulder wasn't entirely healed and that it was still very painful, but the less he knew the better.

"Like what, pray tell, could be worse?" Jareth asked. They dismounted and led their horses into the stable.

"I was once run through by an Ereshigal" Jessie said. The stables were completely silent for a second, then someone coughed and noise picked up.

"When were you ever run through by an Ereshigal?" Jareth asked. Ereshigals were horrid sea creatures with a human body, a goat head with long horns, and a fish tail. They were rare, but had been seen at Starfish Harbor, which was at the most southern part of the Labyrinth.

"You were away on business" Jessie replied. She took off the horse's saddle and started to brush the horse.

"Why was I never told?" Jareth asked doing the same to his horse.

"I told them not to tell you" Jessie said. "I figured that it would only upset you. Besides, it's my job to protect people. That's what I was doing."

"What the hell were you doing at Starfish Harbor?" Jareth asked.

"They needed some help" Jessie said. "I showed up. They had an Ereshigal killing people on the docks."

"Did you kill it?" Jareth asked.

"Kill it? Jessie said. "I made a hunter's horn out of one of its horns, though it was destroyed a while ago."

"Who has the other horn?" Jareth asked.

"Aulus" Jessie said putting some food into the feeding trough. "Renaud had us work toget—"

"Renaud?" Jareth asked with disbelief. "You mean this happened six years ago?"

"I'm fine now, I was fine then" Jessie said moving to fill an empty bucket with water. "I'm fine, Jar—" She looked around and saw two squires still unpacking their horses. "Your majesty."

"I'm not angry" Jareth said in a pissed-off tone. "Finish up, let's go inside."

Jareth and Jessie locked up the stable and went to see what the squires were doing in the old mill. They pushed the doors open to find a fire going in the large fireplace. The stone oven also had a fire going and two squires were busy getting food cooked.

"Wonderful" Jareth said. He set his travel bags down and surveyed the mill. "Looks like the second floor might have bedrooms."

It was expected that Jessie traveled the stairs first, which she did. Since Jareth did not have an heir to his throne, he couldn't risk being killed. The stairs creaked under Jessie's feet. As she reached to top of the stairs, she pulled out a dagger. The second floor was built like a giant 'O', so anyone could look over the railing and see the first floor.

"I'm sure it's alright" Jareth said from the stairs.

"Are you sure there isn't some creature hiding in any of these rooms waiting to jump us?" Jessie asked. Jareth's look was all she needed before proceeding to open all the doors and check all the nooks and crannies.

When she was finished, Jareth looked bored. She sheathed her knife and picked up her bags.

"The fifth room to the right has a broken window" Jessie said.

"I told you that we'd be safe" Jareth replied. Jessie sighed and made her way into the room next to the one Jareth decided to take.

The squires kept the fire raging and strung up everyone's wet clothes to dry. Everyone was in loose pants and loose thermal shirts, making it look like a strange pajama party. Once everyone was dressed in dry clothing, hearty soup and heavy bread was passed out.

Jessie found a seat that allowed her to view the entire downstairs area and allowed her to remain in the shadows. She watched as the squires laughed and talked with Jareth. One of the squires had found a bottle of whiskey in the kitchen and they were all helping themselves to it.

Overhead, Jessie heard the sound of light footsteps. She pulled herself further into the shadows and carefully watched as the bottom side of the floorboards, to the second floor, trembled slightly and allowed tiny bits of dust to dislodge.

Jessie risked a glance at the giddy bunch across the room. None of them had any idea that something was upstairs. Jessie watched as the footsteps started to descend the stairs. The creature picked up speed until Jessie's ears told her that he was on the main floor. She saw nothing.

Her eyes searched for some sign of movement, her ears strained. Finally, she saw a small stone lift off of the ground near Jareth. She didn't think, only acted. Her right hand held her soup bowl, which she hurled towards the stone.

She quickly hurried over to Jareth, unsheathing her sword. The soup had left pieces of vegetables, meat and broth covering the invisible intruder.

"Show yourself!" Jessie growled. The squires were all pulling out their weapons while trying to get their startled expressions off of their faces.

"I can't believe you did that!" The invisible foe said. "Ugh. Geez, that's frickin' hot. What was that? Soup? Is this a potato?"

As the figure came out of his transparency, Jessie's sword fell, as did her expression.

"Robin" Jessie said. "What are you doing here?"

The man before them had curly burnt sienna colored hair and bright green eyes. Robin Goodfellow had been one of the few members of the Fae court who still came to the Labyrinth.

Jessie looked at the squires and waved her hand at them. "Put down your weapons, this is Robin Goodfellow."

"Hey, how are you doing, Jareth?" Robin said with a smile.

"That is King Jareth" Jareth said with a glint of humor. "And, you ruined our meal."

"Oh, not a problem" Robin said with a bow. "When one ruins a meal, it can always be made up" He pulled a bottle from his sack. "With a drink."

Robin smiled broadly at Jessie and handed the bottle over to one of the squires. He clapped his hands and his clothes were clean.

"Showing off?" Jessie asked.

"Only for your benefit, my knightly beauty" Robin said kissing her hand. Jessie rolled her eyes. Ever since she had been in the Labyrinth she had known Robin, not well but they were more then mere acquaintances.

"Excuse me" Jareth said moving Jessie away from Robin. "Robin, why don't you come sit with us?" Robin glanced at Jessie.

"Only if she will sit beside me" Robin said quickly taking Jessie's hand and pulling her to a seat. The squires followed their move and took to their seats again. "Jareth, why haven't you scooped up this tasty little morsel yet?" Robin slung his arm across the back of Jessie's chair.

"Perhaps I have and you don't know it yet" Jareth said with a small grin. Robin laughed as though it was the best joke he had ever heard.

"So why are you here, Robin?" Jessie asked. She was the only one who still had her weapons still attached to her. The others had their weapons sheathed on the floor or on the tables.

"I heard through the grapevine that you were missing" Robin said with a shrug. He gave her a small squeeze that crushed her Ce Sith wound. "I'm glad to see that you have been found." A little blood seeped into her off white shirt. "What's this? Are you hurt?"

"What?" Jessie asked. She looked at her shoulder and covered it with her hand. "It's nothing. I'm fine. Excuse me."

Jareth and Robin watched as Jessie found herself a shadow to sit in before they started talking.

"Okay, what happened there?" Robin asked. A squire came by with drinks for them.

"She was bitten by a Ce Sith" Jareth said. "We spent yesterday getting her all fixed up."

"Ce Sith?" Robin mused while sipping his drink. "And, she's still alive. She's a tough girl to kill."

The sounds of cries for help and thumping on stable doors carried into the mill. Jessie was up on her feet and slinging her cloak around her shoulders as the others only started to stand.

"Another joke, Robin?" Jessie asked. Robin and Jareth were both pulling on cloaks, where Robin's cloak came from was unknown.

"Not one of mine" Robin replied. Jessie pulled the door open. The wind had picked up. Rain and leaves blew in through the door. A shrieking whistle came from outside. Robin paled and his eyes widened. Jessie raced outside. "NO!"

The squires were running out the door fully armed.

"What is that? What's out there?" Jareth asked.

"One of the seven whistlers" Robin replied. "I—I thought I'd be safe here."

"A Whistler!" Jareth hissed. There was a scream from outside and a call of retreat. The squires ran into the mill and locked the door. "Where's Jessie!"

"She told us to come inside" Hershey said trying not to tremble. "We're supposed to protect you inside."

"You left her alone?" Jareth asked. His voice was growing in anger and concern.

"I'll go out there" Robin said. A squire handed him a sword and Robin stopped before the heavy, now blocked, front door. "I'll be back with her, you majesty."

The squires started taking the large beam from the front door.

"Goodfellow!" Jareth said. He tossed a small bag to him. "One drop of that, Robin."

Robin nodded and headed out, the door closing with a thud behind him.

The storm outside was ferocious. The wind howled and the rain was coming down in sheets. Robin crept alongside the mill cringing every time he heard the whistling from the Whistler.

"Robin!" Jessie yelled. Robin felt himself being pulled to the ground. A large rock shattered on the stone mill behind him. He glanced over, noticing that Jessie was covered in mud. She stood up, pulling him up as well. "I don't know where it is."

"Stalking us" Robin said. "It hates to be seen."

"Why is it following you?" Jessie asked moving further along the mill.

"I saw it" Robin replied.

"How do we get rid of it?" Jessie asked. Robin pulled her back, pressing her against him, as another rock exploded against the mill.

"I don't know" Robin said. "But if we stay here, we're just moving targets."

The two didn't move for a minute. Ahead of them, more rocks were thrown against the mill. Then, the rocks stopped.

"Look at that" Jessie whispered. "I don't think it can see us if we're still."

"It's only around until the sun comes up" Robin said against Jessie's ear.

"We need to get inside" Jessie said. "How'd you get in before?"

"I went through the broken window" Robin said.

"Can you get us up there?" Jessie asked. Rocks started hitting the mill again.

"Yes" Robin said hurriedly. He slipped his arms around her waist and they were quickly up in the air, heading towards the window. Rocks followed their ascent upwards until a rock hit Robin squarely in the lower back. The two slammed into the side of the mill before falling to the ground.

Jessie lost her breath from the fall. She gasped for air and turned over.

"Robin?" Jessie called breathless. The still form of Robin lay a foot away from her. Blood covered Robin's left hand which was barely holding onto a small pouch.

The Whistler gave off a high pitched whistle, signaling that it was closer.

"Robin!" Jessie cried gripping his shoulder with a small shake. The bag rolled off of his hand, onto the muddy ground. The whistling came from behind Jessie. She froze.

A whistle sounded inches from her ear. Breath that felt too hot for any Fae brushed her cheek.

Underneath her hands, the ground suddenly felt scaly, cold, and reptilian. Jessie allowed her fingers to move, to feel the strange change under her hands. She felt the whole ground move along her entire body before realizing that something else was happening entirely.

The Whistler's breath had stopped falling along her cheek, as if the massive, indecipherable creature had stepped back. Jessie shot her hand out to grip Robin's upper arm. Behind her, a low growl and whistle sounded. From under her and ahead of her came the distinct sound of a reptilian hiss and a rattle.

She risked an upward glance and saw a creature she had only seen pictures of. The large snake that was before her and partially underneath her was raised up to an impressive fifteen feet. Its yellow eyes seemed illuminated by an inner light. Its black scales made it virtually disappear against the heavy rain.

In a move that even confused her self, Jessie pulled Robin off of the giant snake and up against the side of the mill. Jessie watched as the giant snake bobbed, following the seemingly invisible Whistler. Jessie pulled Robin's arm around her neck and wrapped her arm around his waist. His unconsciousness was very untimely.

She hurried over to the heavy mill door and started to beat on it just as a bloodcurdling half scream, half howl, came from one of the dark creatures.

"OPEN THE DOOR!" Jessie screamed. She could hear the rustle of water and mud, meaning that something was coming back to them. Jessie only beat harder on the door until she found herself falling to the ground and being pulled into the mill.

"Are you okay?" Hershey asked kneeling beside the frightened knight. Two of the squires were placing the beam of wood back across the door, when it burst into a flurry of splinters.

One of the squires, who had some knowledge of the creature, screamed "Kiai!"

Jessie picked herself up and drew out her rapier. Her fear was replaced with a rush of adrenaline. She ran towards the giant snake, the Kiai. The snake pulled itself into the mill with great speed and hissed at the rushing knight. With a flick of its scaly tail, the Kiai sent Jessie flying into the chairs near the fireplace.

A slew of indistinguishable words came from Jareth, who was slowly walking down the stairs. When he reached the floor, he had several crystal balls orbiting him. Everyone, except for the few who were unconscious, stopped to look at him.

"Reditus te Alcyoneus" Jareth growled at the snake. It hissed, as if offended. "Ego vetare tua praesente."

The large snake hissed again and started to collapse in on itself. Everyone watched as the snake slowly took the form of a naked woman. The woman had the same eyes and tongue, but the skin had smoothed from black scales to black skin.

"I know your language" The Kiai said. She moved forward until she was standing a foot from the spinning crystals. "Your magic won't work on me."

"If Alcyoneus has sent you, then you're bound by our agreement" Jareth said. The Kiai's forked tongue flicked out. The two figures glared at each other, daring each other to make the first move.

The mill was quiet, except for the sounds of the storm and the crackling of the fire place. The squires had formed a semi-circle around the Kiai and Jareth. The silence continued to grow into uneasiness.

There was a quick sound of a blade entering hard flesh and the Kiai screamed. Taking the cry and sudden movement as the 'first move', Jareth allowed his crystals to start a procession of stoning. He took a step back as the Kiai fell to the floor face first. The small throwing dagger that protruded from her back made its presence known.

Jareth removed his own long dagger and in a swift movement, decapitated the Kiai's head. He removed the throwing dagger and tossed it away from the body.

"Take this" Jareth said handing the bloody head to the nearest squire. "Outside. If you see any mistletoe, place it there." He pointed to two other squires. "You two, take this carcass and dispose of it."

The squires quickly took out the dead Kiai. Two other squires started cleaning up the mess without being asked. The other squires were checking on the few who had fallen during the attack.

Jareth watched as the two squires, Robin, and Jessie were pulled from the mess of wood and furniture.

"I want them upstairs" Jareth said. The squires moved aside as Jareth formed four new crystals, each one consuming one of the unconscious people on the floor. The crystals floated upwards towards the second floor, two squires hurried after them so first aid could be applied. Jareth turned to the squires who were cleaning up. "I want at least one person guarding this floor at all times and another on the second floor. I'll be upstairs."

Jareth checked on the two injured squires, who were simply unconscious, covered in bruises, and one had two shards of wood sticking out of his right arm. Jareth left and went to check on Robin and Jessie. He knocked on the door before entering.

"How are they doing?" Jareth asked closing the door after himself. The attending squire was cleaning the two since they were both covered in dried mud.

"They're simply unconscious, your majesty" The squire replied.

"Let's get them changed" Jareth replied. "I'll be right back." Jareth left and quickly came back with a handful of clothing. He set the clothing down beside Robin. "He can wear those for now."

"Yes, your majesty" The young squire said. The squire, the only girl in the troupe of squires, flipped her hair over her shoulder and started to undo Robin's shirt.

"Would you feel better with Sir Jessie?" Jareth asked. The girl quickly shook her head 'no'.

"She scares me, a little" The young squire replied.

"What was your name again? Wanda?" Jareth asked.

"Rhonda" The young squire answered. Jareth nodded and started undoing the buttons of Jessie's shirt. The two quickly changed and cleaned the two unconscious figures. They made two makeshift beds from blankets and covered the two.

"I'll stay here with them. Go see if the others need any help, Rhonda" Jareth said. She nodded and quickly left. Jareth retrieved his things from the room next door and set up his own bed in between Jessie's and Robin's.

He stared up at the ceiling and hoped for descent weather.


	8. Chapter 7: Cross Junction

Chapter 7: Cross Junction

The next morning, Jareth awoke to a hand hitting him in the face. He grumbled to himself and moved the hand. He looked to his left, finding Jessie lying on her stomach, her sheets all twisted about her. He groaned and sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"She's been tossing and turning for about an hour now" Robin said. Jareth nodded and stood up to stretch. "Thanks for the clothes by the way."

"Yours were all muddy" Jareth replied. He dug around in his bag and pulled out two heavy jerkins. He tossed one over to Robin.

"Where are we off to today?" Robin asked.

"Back to the Labyrinth" Jareth grumbled, pulling the jerkin up on his shoulders. The green coat seemed to make Jareth look more awake. Robin pulled on the dark blue jerkin and started to clean up his bedding. Jareth rested his hand on the door knob. "I'm going downstairs to check on the squires."

Robin waited until Jareth had left the room before moving next to Jessie. He whispered her name and shook her shoulder. The girl just groaned and made a small movement in her sheets.

"Jessie, you need to wake up darling" Robin said with another shake.

"Huh?" Jessie asked barely opening her eyes and lifting her head. She turned her head until she was looking up at Robin. "Robin?"

"Time to wake up, beautiful" Robin said with a smile. Jessie groaned and let her head plop back onto the makeshift pillow.

"I'm tired, hungry, and I don't want to go" Jessie grumbled. Robin rolled his eyes and moved so he was lying on his side next to her.

"What do you want to eat?" Robin asked.

"If you don't leave me alone, I'll be draining you of blood" Jessie said closing her eyes.

"Well what if I bring you a rabbit or something?" Robin asked.

"Where's Jareth?" Jessie asked ignoring him.

"He's downstairs probably looking for some tea or something" Robin replied. He stretched, reaching his bag, and removed his comb. He moved until he was able to start combing Jessie's hair for her. "So" Robin started as he stroked the comb through Jessie's surprisingly soft hair. "How'd you come about missing?"

"I quit, then ran away" Jessie said. Robin's combing never stopped its continuous flow.

"Quit?" Robin asked. "You seem to be in charge of this troop."

"I am now" Jessie replied. "I just wasn't for a few days."

There was a knock at the door followed by a young voice that said "His Majesty requests both of you downstairs for breakfast."

"We'll be right there" Jessie called out. Robin moved aside and allowed Jessie to get up and pull on some warmer clothes, which consisted of heavy tights, high black boots, the shirt she had worn in bed, and a heavy cotton tunic. "Robin, will you do something for me?"

"Of course" Robin said picking up his things. Jessie moved to roll up her bedding and Jareth's.

"Will you find me something? A rabbit? A raccoon? Something?" Jessie asked.

"I will find something for you to kill, so it will not be me" Robin said swooping in to kiss her forehead. Jessie smiled and followed him out the door with the remaining things from the room.

Breakfast went by very quickly. It consisted of tea, bread, and eggs. It was nothing spectacular, but hearty enough for the troop. Jessie, by the way, received a large hare from Robin which she quietly took care of outside.

The squires, Jareth, Robin, and Jessie were quickly packed up and moving before the sun fully rose. The storm that had started quickly the day before had moved on to a new horizon. The morning looked as sunny and as bright as most other days in the Underground.

With Jessie heading the trip back to the Labyrinth, the troop rode swiftly. By 13:00, they rode through the east gate of Cross Junction, which was adorned with several crosses that had been placed along the gate haphazardly over the last three centuries. Jessie stared up at the gate, pulling her horse to the side, watching as the others went through the gate.

A large black raven landed on one of the crude-looking crosses and squawked loudly.

"Is something wrong?" Robin asked stopping beside Jessie.

"Let's just make sure we don't stay too long" Jessie said. "The last time I was here, I made a few enemies."

"Who? YOU? No, not you" Robin chided with a smile. He nodded his head towards the others. "Come on, my knightly dear, let's go get some food."

The people of Cross Junction stared at the new arrivals as if they had never seen anyone other then themselves. The town was fairly large and had a populace-wide fear of almost everything. The one thing that Cross Junction could boast about, though, was the fine craftsmen that lived in the town. The buildings, the signs, the fountains, everything in the town had a touch of uniqueness to it.

Jessie pulled her hat down so people wouldn't be so inclined to recognize her. The group stopped at a small tavern with a large, painted, wooden sign that read 'The Flying Pig'. The troop managed to enter the tavern without a word to any of the townsfolk.

The Flying Pig was a dim-lit place with dirty windows and dirty floors. The regulars who frequented the bar only turned to watch the group from curiosity. The two bartenders were beefy and looked like they could each take on a small giant.

A busty waitress sauntered over and put her right hand on her hip. "Can I help you?"

"Drinks for everyone" Jareth said. "What do you have to eat?"

"Our special today is stew with a turkey leg and a side of bread" The waitress replied.

"Good. We'll all have that" Jareth replied.

"Will you now?" The waitress said.

"My dear lady" Jareth said with a smile. He leaned in close to her and whispered something in her ear. The waitress smiled and nodded, then trotted towards the kitchen.

"You do have a way with women" Robin said with a grin.

"I learned from the best" Jareth replied. Robin's smile indicated that he was gloating.

"I'll take that as a compliment" Robin said. A few of the squires laughed.

"Sire, I'll be…outside" Jessie replied.

"Come back in when you're finished" Jareth said. Jessie nodded and headed out of the tavern.

Outside, Jessie was quick to head towards the woods. She could feel the stares of the people out among the street. Ducking quickly into the shadowy coverage of the forest, behind a purveyor of clocks, Jessie set out to find a small critter that no one would miss.

It didn't take long. The woods were ripe with life. Jessie caught a rabbit, spearing it on the edge of her sword. Kneeling down near a thicket, Jessie let the blood gush down her throat. The salty, metallic taste soothed her. She could hear the animals heart beat start to slow down.

A gasp made Jessie look up. In front of her an older man who was collecting fire wood was staring at her.

"Monster!" He screamed. "HELP! Monster!"

Jessie dropped the rabbit and the man started to run towards the city, still screaming 'monster'.

"Shit" Jessie said to herself. She ran to the edge of the woods. A group of young men with torches and blades looked directly at her.

"That's the monster!" The man said to the group of younger men.

"I am a Knight of The Labyrinth!" Jessie yelled.

"Monster!" The older man screamed. Two young girls on a horse rode up to the group of men. One of them was trying to get them to leave. Jessie took the opportunity to run in between the horse and the far building.

The group of men suddenly roared. The sound of feet was enough to put no doubt in Jessie's mind that they were behind her. Jessie rounded the corner and practically jumped onto her horse. The noise from the mob and the neighing of the horse was enough to draw the other knights from the tavern.

Jessie turned the horse sharply and took off towards the western gate of the city.

"Sir Cardemus!" The squires called out. Jessie didn't stop until she reached the gates, which were being closed.

"Open the gates!" Jessie yelled out. The tall, heavy wooden gates were closing too fast for Jessie to get through them. Two guards stepped between Jessie and the gate. Jessie pulled hard on the reigns making her horse rear up. Jessie turned the horse around and found the mob getting closer.

Jessie turned back around and moved her cloak out of the way, enough to reveal her belt.

"I am a Knight of The Labyrinth!" Jessie said. She flashed her belt buckle at the guards. "Allow me to pass or I will be forced to hurt you."

"A Knight of The Labyrinth?" The guards scoffed. "What a joke."

"Open the gates or I will kill you both" Jessie growled. The guards pulled out their swords and remained where they stood. The mob was close enough to start forming a circle around Jessie.

"Allow me to leave, I did no harm to anyone" Jessie said to the mob. The mob roared until one of the townsmen stepped forward.

"We told you never to come back to this place, Ama'sovai" The man said with a grimace that looked like he had swallowed something bad. The word "Ama'sovai" traveled through the mob until one man screamed something about killing her, then the mob was back to its usual fury.

The mob swelled with angry energy that felt like it was a hand gripping Jessie. She could feel it enclose around her.

"Just allow me to pass" Jessie said. The crowd stepped back, some people were gasping. "What?" Jessie turned her head to see Jareth standing next to her. "Your majesty."

"Getting yourself into trouble, are you?" Jareth asked.

"One of them caught me with a rabbit" Jessie replied.

"I see" Jareth said with a smile. He turned towards the crowd and raised his voice. "I am the Goblin King and I must ask you all to allow this knight safe passage through this city."

"She was killing!" One of the men said.

"Oh really?" Jareth said. "Was she killing a human or some animal that you yourself would gladly kill and eat?"

"I heard she killed a kid!" Someone else yelled.

"I killed a rabbit!" Jessie yelled back.

"Who found her killing?" Jareth asked. The older man who had found her stepped forward. "What was she killing? Was it a child?"

"I-I-I I think it was an-an-an animal, Your Majesty" The man sputtered.

"It was an animal" Jareth said. He waved his hands to quiet the crowd. "People of Cross Junction. I know that you are scared of the many dangerous creatures in the surrounding forests, but if any Knight of the Labyrinth passes through your city, you should feel safe. Sir Cardemus, here, is one of the best knights that the Labyrinth has."

The crowd seemed to accept what Jareth had said. Some of them just flat out left and the others seemed to need a second before leaving. Jareth patted Jessie's leg.

"Come, I'm sure the food is ready" Jareth said.

The food was waiting for them when they went back to The Flying Pig. Jessie chose to sit at the bar and drink beer, rather then sit with the others. Jessie watched the clock as the troop had decided to waste an hour being merry. After her third beer, Jessie went over to the table and stood next to Jareth.

"Yes?" Jareth asked.

"I think we should be going" Jessie replied. "If we hurry, we can be back by six o'clock."

"I suppose you're right" Jareth replied. "Everyone, we are leaving." Jareth stood up and put a bag of money on the table. He leaned in towards Jessie. "Are you okay to ride point?"

"I'm fine" Jessie said.

"If you're lying, I'll send you right to an oubliette for endangering all of us" Jareth said.

"Your confidence is most reassuring" Jessie said. She turned for the door. "I'll be outside."


	9. Chapter 8: Idis in the Road

Chapter 8: Idis in the Road

Night fell quickly as the squadron tromped through the Fiery Forest towards the Labyrinth walls. As the shadows deepened, the sounds of the forest seemed to grow fiercer. The chirping birds turned to cawing crows. The patter of squirrels turned into the stalking steps of unseen predators.

"Jareth, have you ever thought of setting up lamp posts along here?" Robin asked, breaking the troops' silence. Jareth gave a low chuckle and shook his head.

"Robin, that is the most ridiculous thing I've heard" Jareth replied.

"You could at least widen the road a little bit" Robin complained. He looked around at the road, which was turning into an indistinguishable color of grayish-brown in the night light. "This road is barely wide enough for four riders."

"Shhh" Jessie hissed. She held up her hand and the group came to an immediate halt.

"What is it?" Jareth asked moving his horse a few steps forward.

"I'm not sure" Jessie said softly. She squinted and looked into the blue and black shadows before her. Raising her voice she called, "Hello!"

A figure in a dark robe slowly made its way towards the group in a disjointed manner. It stayed close to the trees.

"Halt!" Jessie said loudly. The figure faded until the trees and the road behind it could be seen right through it, then it became opaque once again. "A ghost?"

"No" Jareth said. He leaned forward and whispered "It is an Idis. Show it much respect. Call its name."

"Idis" Jessie said. The figure stopped and seemed to look at them, only its entire face was covered by the overly large hood. A feminine hand emerged from the large sleeves with the palm facing the group of riders. Jessie's hand crept onto the hilt of her sword as she watched the Idis start to glow with a white-blue light.

The Idis let out a shrill scream. Most of the squires covered their ears. The hood on the robe blew back from the Idis's head from an invisible wind. Long blood-red hair flew around the pale face.

"King!" Idis moaned. The Idis's voice echoed more then it should have. "Betrayal comes at waning."

"Betrayal? By whom?" Jareth asked moving his horse forward.

"Modsognir dwarves" Idis moaned. Her figure had started to rise off of the ground. Her hair still whipped around her head as if she was caught in a wind tunnel.

"Modsognir?" Jareth repeated. "Thank you for the warning, Idis."

"You are welcome, King" Idis moaned. She grew brighter and again she let out a shrill scream. The whole troop had to look away as she grew as bright as the sun. The light and her screams suddenly stopped. The troop looked up to see the figure fading into the shadows of the forest.

"Sire?" Jessie asked.

"We need to get back and warn the others" Jareth said. "Waning, as Idis put it, should happen in no more then a week."

"Right" Jessie said. Jessie stretched in her saddle and looked over her shoulders. "Ride fast young squires. Stay on the road." Jessie turned to face forward and let out a cry to spur on her horse. "Yee-Aahhh!"

The troop took off at an alarming rate, heading straight for the Goblin City.

The Labyrinth loomed ahead of the racing troop like a silent giant. The riders raced on, passing several creatures on the way, until they reached the Goblin City. They raced through the city, sounding their horns to clear the way. The citizens of the Goblin City rushed to get out of their way.

"Take them to Somai Field!" Jessie yelled to Jareth. Jareth nodded and signaled for the others to follow him. Jessie broke away from the group and raced for the Council Hall.

Jessie was off her horse and was running inside before the horse came to a full stop. She raced inside, pushing past other knights and squires who were in her way. She raced up the stairs and up to the bell tower. Usually it would be a lesser knight or a squire who would be sent to sound the alarm, but not this time.

Jessie pushed the heavy doors to the tower stairs open and ran up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, Jessie picked up the heavy iron club and swung at the heavy bell. The bell was large enough and loud enough that the reverberations could be felt in her bones. She swung again and again until she was sure that everyone had heard it.

She dropped the iron club and made her way out of the bell tower so she could meet up with the others at Somai Field.

Somai Field was filled with knights and squires. The bell at the Council Hall was magical and when it sounded all of the knights and squires heard it. It was one of the first things that was taught to squires, as well as a simple spell to transport to Somai Field, which was where all of the knights and squires were required to group for announcements.

"Attention!" Jareth called out. He was still atop his horse and was facing the knights and squires. "I have just received some very distressing news. Modsognir will be attacking soon. We have until the waning moon to prepare for the arrival of the Dwarves."

A murmur spread through the knights and squires. They were hushed when the king clapped his hands.

"Attend to your usual duties until you are instructed otherwise by your commanding knights. I require a meeting with all elder knights immediately" Jareth said. "We will meet at the Council Hall in five minutes. You are all dismissed."

The group dispersed as quickly as they had arrived. Robin rode up to Jareth as he was leaving the field.

"Shall I wait for you here, Your Majesty?" Robin asked.

"No. Instruct the goblins at my castle to wait on you" Jareth said. "I'll be there shortly."

"Yes, sire" Robin said.

The King's Room in the Council Hall was only to be used by the king and the elder knights. It had a throne and a U-shaped table that faced the throne. Jareth sat at the throne and the elder knights each took their seats.

"We have a crisis about to happen, my knights" Jareth said from the throne.

"Why would Modsognir attack us, Your Majesty?" Alexa bluntly asked. Alexa looked as if she had awoken and dressed in a hurry. She wore loose pants, a loose shirt, boots, her weapons, and leather gauntlets. "Why now?"

"Sir Alexa!" Jareth growled. "Sit down! Your lack of courtesy is not becoming!" Jareth took a deep breath. "King Koenraad of Modsognir and I have been arguing over trade routes. To say the least, I have dealt with him for a long time and we have never seen eye to eye. He insists on getting a fee for every tradesman who passes through his land to get to mine."

"Why hasn't there been a diplomat sent to him?" Sir Zill asked. Jessie scowled, but remained silent.

"I have tried to send a diplomat" Jareth said.

"Tried? What do you mean tried?" Sir Hugo asked. Hugo had his large hat off of his head and was trying to comb out his thick wiry black hair. His pointed faery ears twitched.

"My diplomat became caught up in dire business and the group I sent in her place has not been heard from" Jareth replied. "I have sent others in the past, but they always end up dead."

"Why are they taking action? Why now?" Sir Aulus asked.

"Perhaps they saw the festival as a distraction to us" Sir Don Carlos said. His elven features were perfect like they always were, except for the small crease between his eyes.

"But that festival gave us more warriors" Sir Aulus replied.

"But, they are in need of training" Jareth said. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and let his hand fall to the arm of the chair. "Prepare for war. You have seven days until the waning moon. At that time we will be on guard 26-hours a day."

"Will your troops be ready?" Sir Pheon'a Ch'a asked.

"I will have them train extra hard" Jareth replied. Jareth stood up. "We will meet every night at eight o'clock. I want to know your progression. I want to know weaknesses. I want to know everything that happens. I will contact everyone I can to see if we can get back-up. Does anyone have anything to add?" Silence hung in the room like smoke. "Fine. You're all dismissed. Prepare for war."


	10. Chapter 9: The Calm Before The Storm

Chapter 9: The Calm Before The Storm

Jareth paced the floor of his study. Robin had shared a drink with him, but went to bed exhausted from the long ride. Jareth had bathed and was now wearing one of his many long satin robes and black silk pajama pants. He stopped pacing only to refill his wine glass.

He went over to his large crystal ball and waved his hand over it. He wanted to see where his goblin diplomats were. The crystal clouded over until it was grey. Deathly grey. Jareth took a long drink from his glass and returned the crystal to its usual clear form. His goblin diplomats were dead.

Jareth moved to look out the large windows at the Goblin City. The citizens below were doing what they usually did. Some were pulling things, some were pushing things, some were riding horses, some were just walking, and some were even chasing chickens. Jareth sighed and sipped his wine.

A knock on the large wooden doors brought Jareth's thoughts to a halt.

"I told you I did not want to be disturbed!" Jareth bellowed without turning around. There was a "hey, you can't go in there" and the sound of something hitting the wall. Then a heavier banging came from the door. Jareth knew who it was. "I am busy!"

"Like hell you are" Jessie said loud enough for him to hear. She pounded a fist against the door. "You're brooding over things and drinking."

"I said I AM BUSY!" Jareth yelled. He drank the last of his wine and went to refill his glass.

"I need to talk with you" Jessie said. Jareth put down the wine decanter and produced a crystal. He let it float in the air as he moved to sit in a large chair that faced the fireplace. The crystal started to play music, effectively drowning out the pounding on the door.

A noise that sounded like something that came from a blacksmith shop cut into the music. Jareth leaned over the arm of the chair to watch the door handle forcibly turn and nails fall from the handle. The doorknob and lock fell to the floor with a clank. The door opened and Jessie walked in. She was wearing her leather armor, which told Jareth that she was working the graveyard shift.

"I SAID—" Jareth yelled standing up.

"Shut up, Jareth!" Jessie quipped. Jareth's eyes filled with rage. "I just got word that Koenraad's troops are forming outside of Lungand."

"Why wasn't I notified earlier?" Jareth asked still enraged.

"I was just notified" Jessie said. Jareth turned towards the fire and drank the rest of his glass of wine.

"How many are there?" Jareth asked staring into the orange flames of the fire.

"An estimated 10,000" Jessie replied. Jareth set the wine glass on a small round table.

"I haven't even had time to contact any other kingdoms" Jareth said in a small voice.

"It gets worse" Jessie said. "They have a six slidringtanni, those large black boars that I've only read about in legend."

"Slidringtanni?" Jareth asked. "Are you sure? I thought they were extinct."

"Unless my brain deceives me, they are indeed Slidringtanni, and they are each hauling a catapult" Jessie replied.

"We are not ready for such an attack" Jareth said. He looked back at the knight in his study. His eyebrows pulled together and the anger in his eyes shone like the fire. "Why didn't you just go to Modsognir? This wouldn't have happened if you had just gone."

"Excuse me?" Jessie said. Her eyebrows were high and her mouth hung low.

"I needed someone to prevent this from happening!" Jareth yelled. Jessie's features came together to mimic Jareth.

"I am not responsible for your political fiascos!" Jessie yelled back. She pointed a finger at him to emphasize her next words. "If you ever, EVER, blame me for your lack of confidence during your political disputes--!"

"Do not point at me!" Jareth interrupted. The crystal that was hovering in the air, still playing music, crashed into Jessie's right shoulder, knocking her to the floor. It bounced twice on the stone floor before returning to hover in the air. "And, do not raise your voice to your king."

Jessie stood up and stretched out her shoulder. "You're just drunk. I'll come back when you're sober."

The room seemed to get hotter and the air between the two seemed thick with animosity.

"What did you call me?" Jareth hissed through clenched teeth.

"I called you a drunk" Jessie hissed back. Jareth stepped close to her and held his face level with hers. "I can smell the wine from here, Jareth."

Jessie's head snapped to the side with a sharp crack. A red hand imprint stung her cheek and a few drops of blood stained her lips from where her teeth had bit. She licked her lips and glared at Jareth.

"You're a fool" Jessie said. Jareth's fists connected with Jessie's jaw and her cheekbone, sending her stumbling back. Jessie regained her balance and stepped towards Jareth. "Is that all you've got?"

The hovering crystal came smashing into Jessie's chest and repeated to beat into her as she fell to the ground. Jareth watched, "seeing red", as the crystal bruised and battered the knight. He flicked his wrist and the crystal flew off to hover near the door. Jessie turned on her side and spat blood from her mouth. Her face was a mass of red and purple bruises.

"Coward" Jessie said. In a fury, Jareth bent down and grabbed her by the collar.

"Shut up!" He screamed in her face. He violently shook her until his rage died down a little bit. "Just shut up!" He let her drop to floor in a heap. "You're a mess."

"You feel a little better though, don't you?" Jessie groaned. Jareth balled up his fists and took a deep breath. He agreed with her and he didn't want to. He picked up his glass and went to pour himself a glass of wine. Jareth made a distasteful grunt when he looked over at Jessie and moved to go stand by the windows.

Slowly and painfully, Jessie picked herself up. The sound of the creaking leather and metal against the floor gave her movement away.

"Shouldn't you be out on patrol?" Jareth asked.

"I'm not working tonight" Jessie replied. Jareth turned and narrowed his eyes at her.

"You're in your armor" Jareth replied. Jessie's nose started to bleed and she pulled out a handkerchief to stop the flow. Realization hit Jareth as he watched her. "You wanted me to hit you."

"Actually I figured you could use a physical release" Jessie replied through the cloth. "And you barely hit me, just for the record. You used those stupid crystals."

"Get out of my study" Jareth growled.

"What are you going to do about Koenraad's army?" Jessie asked.

"I will figure that out" Jareth said. He sipped his wine and looked out the windows. "Go away. Your appearance is unpleasant."

"Yeah, well fuck you, Jareth" Jessie said still holding her nose. She turned and pushed the heavy door open. "I don't know how accurate Idis was in her prophecy, but we need to act now or we'll lose."

"Get out" Jareth hissed. He watched as she shook her head and left the study. He could feel a part of himself agreeing with her, but his mind was being very indecisive.

The next morning, before the sun ever arose, there was a meeting between all of the elder knights in the Council Hall. Tensions were high and the knights looked haggard.

"We need armor for the new troops" Alexa said standing and hitting the table.

"No one but the dwarves can make armor that fast" Don Carlos said. "Let them wear leather."

"I agree with Alexa, Don Carlos" Aulus said.

"We need to work out a plan of attack!" Pheon'a Ch'a cried. "We should not be here discussing armor!"

"I have an idea" Hugo said. The knights looked at the small glittering faery as if he wasn't really there. Hugo, in his very small form, floated to the middle of the room with a piece of paper. He held it up. "I have a plan!"

The drawing was very simple. Mountains were upside-down V's, the forest was simply a shaded area, and the roads were dark squiggly lines. The Dwarves were composed of a very dark shaded area.

"If we can get a message to Svengard and Jurassitol, they could provide an immediate defense both north and south of Lungand" Hugo said.

"We know that, Hugo" Alexa said. Hugo put the drawing flat on the large round table.

"We need to leave a third of our troops here in the Labyrinth" Hugo said ignoring Alexa. He marked two X's at the two main entrances of the Labyrinth. He placed an X near a bunch of hills. "We should drop off a sixth of the troops in Baku as immediate back up. The rest of us go north to Lungand."

"This plan is nuts" Alexa said. "They could just go through the forest."

"No one would willingly go through that forest" Zill argued calmly.

"I think we should see what the king's plans are" Jessie said.

"We do not need the king here to make our decisions" Alexa replied.

"You're a fool, Alexa!" Jessie said. "We need the numbers that the goblin army has."

"The Knights of The Labyrinth are known for our small numbers" Alexa said leaning towards Jessie.

"Yes, but we have many new knights" Jessie quipped. "New knights who are not trusted yet." Jessie pointed at the map, south of Lungand and Jurassitol. "I think we need to move our troops to Baku."

"Baku is a day's ride to Lungand" Aulus said. "Why Baku?"

"We can take out the north Blutberg River bridge" Jessie said. "If we need to, we could send troops out to hold tight in Olive Grove. When the Dwarves move to Jurissitol or even on towards Baku, we can take them from both ends."

"Who would we send out?" Alexa asked.

"The goblins" Jessie said. Pheon'a Ch'a leaned forward and pointed to an area halfway between Baku and Jurissitol called Pining Plain.

"That's where we should have the battle" Pheon'a Ch'a said. "It's open, it's not in a city, and if we can get extra troops to come in from the north, then we can be rid of the Dwarves."

"They have six slidringtanni" Aulus said. "How are we supposed to kill them? Their hide is stronger then ten layers of armor."

"If we had our own beasts" Don Carlos said.

"Yes! Our own beasts!" Hugo said.

"What beasts?" Zill asked. "We have no beasts!"

The group fell silent. Hugo fiddled with his map. Pheon'a took off her ears, scratched them, and reattached them. Alexa played with her chain mail shirt. Jessie leaned back and looked up at the ceiling.

"Can anyone pull any favors from any high fae?" Aulus asked sinking in his chair. Silence licked the room again until an idea came into Jessie's head.

"The Shaitans" Jessie said. The others looked at her. "The Shaitans. They are in debt to the Ama'sovai."

"Those desert demons?" Alexa asked incredulously. Jessie leaned forward.

"You don't have to like them, Alexa. We just have to get rid of the Dwarves" Jessie replied.

"Why would they help us?" Alexa asked. "What would you offer them?"

"I don't know" Jessie replied. "I don't even know what they'd want."

"If she goes out to negotiate and they say 'no', then we remain in the same spot" Aulus said. "I don't see any reason why Jessie shouldn't go to the Shaitans."

"Who else votes for Jessie to negotiate with the Shaitans?" Alexa asked. Hugo, Pheon'a Ch'a, and Zill raised their hands. Alexa looked over at Jessie. "Are you willing to go?"

"Yes" Jessie said.

"Five out of seven. Go tonight" Alexa said. "If you are not back by morning we will send someone."

"Then I will leave as soon as the sun goes down" Jessie said.

"We will meet back here when you return" Alexa said. The group seemed anxious to stand and stretch. Jessie and Aulus left the room quickly, standing outside in the cool early morning air.

"You're going home?" Aulus asked.

"That I am" Jessie replied. "I haven't slept in thirty hours or so."

"Mind if I ask you a personal question?" Aulus asked moving towards his horse.

"I might, but go ahead" Jessie replied. Aulus mounted his horse.

"What happened?" Aulus asked gesturing to his face. Jessie touched her cheeks where purple bruises graced her cheekbones and jaw.

"Just a fight" Jessie said. "I am fine."

"Right" Aulus said. Jessie started to walk off as the others came out of the Council Hall.

"Good night, Aulus" Jessie said walking towards her small cottage.


	11. Chapter 10: The Mighty AlShairan

Chapter 10: The Mighty Al-Shairan

Jessie and the four knights that followed her carefully guided their horses to the top of the dune nearest the Labyrinth. A soft, warm wind blew across the sand. The night was warmer then expected and was eerily quiet. Sir Hugo urged his horse to move beside Jessie's.

"Sir, where are these Shaitans?" Sir Hugo asked in a harsh whisper.

"Move back" Sir Jessie said. She pulled out her horn. "I'll call and see if we get a response."

Jessie raised the horn to her lips and blew. A long steady tone came from the horn. Jessie blew again and let the horn fall back to her side. The wind had picked up, but the desert remained calm.

"How did they appear when you were last here?" Sir Aulus asked.

"They just showed up" Jessie said. Taking a lung full of air, Jessie bellowed "I demand to talk to the Shaitans! I am Sir Jessie Cardemus of the Labyrinth!"

The wind simply blew sand at the horse's feet.

"That worked wonders" Sir Drake said in a sardonic tone. He adjusted his green leather tunic and stared out at the dunes.

"Perhaps they desire an offering" Sir Sasha offered. She was dressed in leather armor, but wore a helmet that was much like Sir Jessie's.

"Water?" Sir Aulus asked.

"Try it" Jessie said. Aulus held up a leather canteen. Jessie called out again. "We come bearing water if you will allow us diplomatic passage so we may talk to your king!"

The wind blew.

"I don't think that worked eith—AH!" Sir Drake said. The ground below the knights rumbled as if something great moved under the sand.

"We need to speak to your king! It's very important!" Sir Jessie yelled. A wave of sand moved towards them and stopped a grand five feet from the horses. Two womanly figures emerged from the sand.

"Ama'sovai, you have returned" The figures hissed in unison. "Our king does not wish to talk with you."

"Please, I must speak with him" Sir Jessie said. "It's of dire importance. It will indefinitely affect him."

The two figures seemed to think about it and they flinched as if they heard a voice. After a moment, the sand before the knights parted to display two large doors. The doors opened and the two females gestured for the knights to enter.

The knights passed through the tall doors and into the intricately tiled, large foyer. The Shaitan females followed them into large foyer, changing from a sandy form to a very reddish-tan human form.

"You must leave your horses here" The females said.

"Will they be safe?" Sir Aulus asked.

"They will remain here until you come for them" The females replied. The five knights dismounted and stepped away from the horses with their gallon-size water canteens. Another Shaitan female came from around a corner and opened a large door.

"Straight through" The female said. She gave the knights a large, sharp-toothed smile. She gestured with her bracelet clad arms.

The knights walked straight through the long hall and through a set of open doors until they found themselves before a very large throne and a very large king. His skin was not reddish like the Shaitans, he was a rich turquoise. His long black hair was fixed into a long, thick black braid. About his neck, ears, and wrists were hordes of gold jewelry with thick glass beads. He stood as the knights approached his throne. His rich clothing rustled with the heavy sound that curtains make when rustled.

The knights strained to look up at him since he stood at a grand eighteen feet tall. The turquoise man blinked with his strange, sideways eyes and after a flash of bright light, he stood at six-foot eight.

"I am King Al-Shairan" The man said. The knights immediately knelt before him until he simply stated "Rise."

"Your Majesty" Sir Jessie said. "I am Sir Jessie Cardemus from the Labyrinth."

"Yes, I heard" King Al-Shairan said. A mortal size throne had been moved out from somewhere, or perhaps it had gone unseen before. Al-Shairan sat in it. "I also heard that you bear the gift of water."

"Yes, sire" Sir Jessie said. She moved her water canteen to the floor. "We are only carrying one gallon a piece, but you may take our water if you will hear us."

"You are the Halfling that I was told about, aren't you?" Al-Shairan asked. He leaned forward, obviously leering at the knight before him. His eyes, which would have looked normal had a person been tilting their head horizontally, blinked again and were a rich gold. Al-Shairan gave Jessie a toothy grin, exposing his sharp pointed teeth. He suddenly leaned back in his throne, tapping his fingers together and resting a foot on the edge of his chair. "Take off your helmet and allow me to see who I am speaking to."

Jessie took off her helmet after receiving a nod from Sir Aulus.

"Your Majesty, we need to talk to you about—" Jessie began.

"I want the water before me" King Al-Shairan said. Jessie moved her canteen onto the bottom step before the throne. The others started to move, but Al-Shairan held up his hand. "Give the canteens to the Halfling."

The knights stopped moving and handed their canteens to Jessie, who put them next to hers.

"Your Majesty, our news is very—" Jessie started saying.

"I only want to talk with you" Al-Shairan said pointing at Jessie.

"Yes, sire, but—" Jessie said.

"No" Al-Shairan said. He stood up and a door in the wall slid open. "Come with me. The rest of you may stay here. We will be back."

Al-Shairan led Jessie through the door and down the long hall. When they reached the end of the hall, Al-Shairan opened a door and guided Sir Jessie into the waiting room.

"This is ridiculous" Sir Aulus said. Several Shaitan men and women had come out and had started socializing with each other. Sir Drake watched as Hugo and Sasha talked with a Shaitan woman.

"I most agree, Sir Aulus" Sir Drake said.

"Why did he take her into that back room?" Sir Aulus whispered. "He paid us of no mind."

"I trust that Sir Jessie has been a diplomat before" Sir Drake replied.

"She has" Sir Aulus said. The woman that Hugo and Sasha were talking to laughed loudly.

"Then I trust that she will make the right decisions and win some allies for us" Sir Drake said. He pat Sir Aulus' shoulder and moved forward to introduce himself to the Shaitans. Aulus sighed and followed Drake.

Jessie watched as King Al-Shairan lounged on a large round bed of pillows and blankets. The dim room was lit by subtle lanterns and smelled of myrrh and frankincense.

"Your Majesty, I do not understand why we are in your bedroom" Jessie said. "I am here to report of a future war, not bed side manners."

"I was told of your temper" Al-Shairan said with a smile in his eye. He moved so he was kneeling on the bed and, even then, was taller then Jessie. "I was told of this future war by my soothsayer." Jessie made to say something, but the king spoke before she could say anything. "I was also told about you."

"By the soothsayer?" Jessie asked. Al-Shairan nodded.

"I want to know what you want for this war and what I get in return" Al-Shairan said.

"We ask for your help during this war" Jessie said. "If the dwarves of Modsognir take the Labyrinth, then they will surely try to take your kingdom as well."

"Perhaps the Labyrinth is a disorderly kingdom" Al-Shairan said. Jessie's expression turned into a sneer.

"I assure you that the Labyrinth is only suffering in manpower, not in skill" Jessie said. Al-Shairan reached out a hand and pulled Jessie in towards him.

"Let's say that I help out during this war" Al-Shairan said. "I will keep the dwarves from crossing through the desert and I would allow you to take some of my finest warriors. What would I get in return?"

"What would you like, King Al-Shairan?" Jessie asked. Al-Shairan pulled at the tie holding Jessie's cloak along her shoulders and it fell to the floor.

"Water" Al-Shairan said. "I want an aqueduct to run through my kingdom."

"Then you will have your aqueduct" Jessie said. She moved to step backwards, but Al-Shairan's hand gripped her belt, holding her in place.

"That is not all" Al-Shairan said. He moved his other hand out to pull her head close to his. "I was told that you would be mine."

"Excuse me?" Jessie said trying to pull out of his grasp.

"An hour of your time and I will help you" Al-Shairan said. His knuckles brushed her cheek and Jessie's jaw dropped open.

"I am not a courtesan" Jessie whispered as her anger grew. "I am a knight, a general!"

"And I am a king" Al-Shairan replied. He smiled and pulled one of her hands up to his shirtless chest. Jessie's fingers reacted to the heat that radiated from Al-Shairan's chest. "One hour."

"I want an open trade route from beyond your desert to the Labyrinth" Jessie said. "If I am to accommodate your wishes, then give me a trade route as well."

"You are demanding, aren't you?" Al-Shairan said. He leaned towards her, teasing her by kissing her jaw and chin. "I will give you your trade route for one hour of your time."

"One hour" Jessie repeated. Al-Shairan's eyes grew to a dark honey brown color. He pulled her close, his lips barely touching hers. "But" Jessie said in a light whisper. "I also want all of your promises in writing and sent out to the others."

Al-Shairan pulled away from Jessie and snapped his fingers. A scroll appeared in the air with everything that he had said. He flicked his wrist and a pen appeared. He signed the paper and it folded up. Al-Shairan handed it to Jessie, who stuffed it into a belt pouch.

"I want you to take pleasure in this" Al-Shairan whispered into Jessie's ear. He waved his hand before her chest and her leather became undone. The metal pieces clanked to the floor. Her belt with all of its weapons, hit the floor unceremoniously.

"Your prophecy of us together" Jessie said. "Tell me of it."

"Dear Knight" King Al-Shairan said moving Jessie's hands to his shoulders. "It simply said that we would share a few nights together, tonight being the first."

"I will be back?" Jessie asked. Al-Shairan's fingers nimbly began to slide Jessie's leather armor off of her. Al-Shairan gently laid a kiss on Jessie's lips. He pushed her leather armor to the floor and guided her hands to the edges of his brocade coat.

"Only one hour" Al-Shairan whispered before adorning her neck with kisses. His coat fell from his shoulders and his bare upper body was like a turquoise sculpture. Jessie's hands ran down his chest and started to fumble with his sashes.

The two remained quiet until they were both naked before each other. They had taken their time undressing each other. Al-Shairan moved to recline along the bed with his elbow propped up on a pillow. He gestured that Jessie join him, which she did.

"You have yet to protest that we are going too far" Al-Shairan said with a smile.

"If you want me to protest, then I will" Jessie said. "But, I am doing this for the kingdom."

"Am I that unattractive?" Al-Shairan asked.

"No" Jessie said. "It's not that." Jessie stared into his honey brown eyes and felt more welcome than she ever had with Jareth. "There is…someone else. I am being courted by another."

"And?" Al-Shairan asked. He took her hand and kissed her palm.

"And he is King Jareth" Jessie said. Al-Shairan nipped at her wrist.

"You sound like you have a dilemma" Al-Shairan whispered licking the inside of her elbow.

"I feel welcome here, but I do not know you, sire" Jessie said. Al-Shairan looked up at her. "With King Jareth, it is the sheer opposite."

"Then feel welcome here. Enjoy what I have to offer you" Al-Shairan said. He moved so Jessie was on her back, looking up into his turquoise face. "We will get to know each other in time." Jessie was about to say something about Jareth, but Al-Shairan put a finger to her lips. "King Jareth will have his turn at wooing you. All I ask for is this one hour with you." He trailed a hand down her body. "If you don't want to come back after this one hour, then you will never have to."

"Okay" Jessie said. The king gave her a warm smile.

"Call me Shairan" The king whispered before kissing her. He snapped his fingers and the lanterns all went out.

An hour later, Sir Jessie and King Al-Shairan came back to the throne room. Jessie clutched the treaty and went to stand next to Aulus. King Al-Shiaran stood before the knights and smiled. He grew to his standard height of eighteen feet and sat on his large throne.

"I thank you for visiting my kingdom" Al-Shairan said. "I will look forward to the next time that we meet, knights of the Labyrinth." Al-Shairan pulled on a long cord that hung beside his throne and a Shaitan woman brought out a large bag. "Take that bag of sand. Spread out the sand where you want my men to appear from. They will be there when battle starts."

"Thank you, Your Majesty" Sir Aulus said. All the knights bowed.

"Now, hurry back to the Labyrinth and deliver that treaty" Al-Shairan said.


	12. Chapter 11: The Treaty

Chapter 11: The Treaty

"I need to take this to the King" Jessie said as the knights tromped through the Labyrinth. Aulus was beside her.

"I can't believe it only took you an hour to get that" Aulus said. Jessie smirked and gripped the treaty tighter.

"You wouldn't believe what I had to do" Jessie said. The group fell into single file as they squeezed the horses through a narrow part of Siccare Path. When they were able to ride in pairs, Aulus moved beside her.

"What was the agreement?" Aulus asked. Jessie's breath caught in her throat for a split second before she answered.

"He wants an aqueduct" Jessie replied.

"An aqueduct?" Aulus said in disbelief. "Through a desert?"

"His people need water" Jessie said.

"Yes, I understand that" Aulus said. "I just thought that they had their own means of getting it."

"He could have asked for a lot more, Aulus" Jessie said. Aulus looked over at her and noticed that a single metal stud was missing from her leather armor.

"How many lamp posts are there in Goblin City?" Aulus asked.

"What?" Jessie asked.

"How many lamp posts are there in Goblin City?" Aulus repeated. Jessie shrugged.

"There's sixty-four, why?" Jessie asked.

"How many bricks are in the small wall around the castle?" Aulus asked.

"What is this? Twenty questions?" Jessie asked.

"Answer it" Aulus said. In his golden armor, Aulus looked like he stepped out of a Renaissance painting of the Greek god Hermes, even in the night.

"There are forty-thousand three-hundred fifty-seven bricks" Jessie replied. "What is this about, Aulus?"

"What happened when you went with King Al-Shaidan?" Aulus asked.

"Nothing" Jessie said sharply.

"You're missing a stud in your armor" Aulus said. "Since you just displayed your fine knack for details, you must know about it."

"And?" Jessie pressed.

"I know you, Jess" Aulus said. "You're a stickler for keeping your things in the best condition. If something rips, you sew it. If something breaks, you fix it."

"Fine" Jessie said. "If you must know, I…fell. I tripped over the rug and I fell against a chair."

"Liar" Aulus said. Jessie glared at Aulus.

"I need to get this to our King" Jessie said raising the treaty. Before Aulus could say anything, Jessie gave Aftiel a small kick and was racing down Siccare Path towards the castle.

Jareth and Robin heard the protests coming from the goblins before they ever saw the castle's intruder. They were both having drinks in the castle's one and only bar, which was reserved for the king and guests. The two men looked up as the door knob started to twist. From the other side of the door, a sound of surprise and the sound of someone hitting the floor were heard.

Robin waved his left hand and the door opened. Jessie was lying on the floor with a dozen goblins holding her down.

"Let her up" Jareth said. The goblins all let go and Jessie stood up.

"Lady, next time I'll have your toe knuckles" One of the smaller goblins said as he retreated down the hallway. Jessie rolled her eyes and stepped into the bar, shutting the door behind her.

"I have great news" Jessie said with a smile.

"Yes? And, what is that?" Jareth asked. He sipped his wine and waited. Jessie raised the partially squashed treaty towards him.

"I have made peace with King Al-Shaidan of the Desert" Jessie said. Jareth took the treaty and opened it. "He even agreed to help with the dwarves."

"This is very…" Jareth murmured as he quickly read the short treaty. "Very…" He almost finished reading it. "Bad! What is this?"

"What is what?" Jessie asked her expression dropping.

"This!" Jareth said pointing to a sentence near the very end. It read: 'King Al-Shaidan will have the right to court the bearer of this treaty, Sir Jessie Cardemus, until the treaty is nullified.' Jessie gasped.

"Have you been flirting with the Djinn, darling?" Robin asked with a smirk. Jessie's eyes widened and her mouth was open.

"I-I agreed to it" Jessie said trying to cover up her startled expression. Jareth fisted one hand around the treaty and shattered his wine glass in the other. The king's reaction made Jessie gasp and step back.

"I do not agree to this" Jareth said.

"Jareth" Robin said lightly. "Calm down. Surely this can be worked out."

"Were you the diplomat?" Jareth asked Jessie. Jessie nodded. She tried to watch him, but the smell of blood coming from the hand that had shattered the wine glass seemed overwhelming. Jareth pulled out the one large shard of glass from his hand with his teeth.

Robin raised a lip in disgust and took a drink of his wine. He couldn't see the look in Jareth's eyes. It was a look of anger, jealousy, and disbelief. Jessie had never seen Jareth look this angry.

"I'm sorry" Jessie said kneeling before Jareth. "It was the only way."

"Was it?" Jareth asked. He stood up and picked Jessie up off the floor by her collar with his bloody hand. "Was it really the only way?"

"Jareth, please" Jessie whispered in a vividly frightened tone. Jareth turned towards Robin with Jessie still off the ground.

"I need some time with my dear Sir Jessie" Jareth said.

"Good night" Robin said wide eyed. "Just…be careful."

Jareth turned and stalked out of the room with Jessie. He was acting like she weighed no more then a feather. His hand was like iron around her collar and no matter how hard she struggled it did her no good.

"Jareth" Jessie said. He didn't even look at her. He simply walked down the hall until he went into a room that was nothing but stairs and doors. The Escher Room as it was commonly called. Jareth walked down a set of stairs and across a wall until he got to the door he wanted. He opened it and Jessie found herself sitting in his sitting room, his bedroom sitting room. He dropped her unceremoniously on the floor.

"Stand up" Jareth said. Jessie stood and straightened her armor. He looked her up and down. He formed a crystal and chucked it at her. Jessie made to catch the crystal. When she did, her armor clad arm was no longer armor clad. Jessie looked down to find herself in a black satin nightgown.

In a swift movement, Jareth pulled her to him. He held her head steady as he kissed her. He pulled her into his bedroom, dropping the treaty near his desk, and he pushed her onto his bed.

"You can't just--!" Jessie yelled angrily.

"I can and I will!" Jareth bellowed. Jessie felt his actions and meaning strike her like a lion's claw. She put her hand to her stomach and looked away from the man who was undressing, only to be clad in his satin red robe. He paced before the end of the bed, watching her. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing" Jessie said softly. Jareth moved to raise her chin so she was looking up at him.

"Al-Shaidan had a prophecy didn't he?" Jareth asked.

"He might have" Jessie said pulling her chin from his hand. Jareth sat down in front of her.

"That mad man always has a prophecy" Jareth said. "What was it? You'd bring rain? Maybe you'd be willing to go on a mission for him?"

"Stop it" Jessie said. She looked him in the eyes. "He had a prophecy, but it was simple."

"Simple?" Jareth asked.

"He said that I would be back, but he said he already knew about the war" Jessie said. "He is taking our side, so that must be promising."

"Did you sleep with him?" Jareth asked narrowing his gaze. Jessie looked away. "I don't believe this." Jareth's angry look seemed to dissolve into disbelief. "Why?"

"He only demanded one hour" Jessie said. "One hour of my life and he'd do almost anything."

"I am to be courting you" Jareth said.

"I know" Jessie said. "I told him that."

"How dare he!" Jareth fumed. Jessie moved so one leg dangled off of the bed and her arms were crossed. Jareth let out a torrent of curses as his hands gripped and un-gripped the bed sheets.

"You're only courting me" Jessie said. "You do not own me." Her words made Jareth stop and look at her. He looked like she had slapped him. Jessie let her lip curl. "You're over exaggerating this whole thing. We have an upcoming war to prepare for. We shouldn't be worrying about who has slept with whom and that it was the only way to get that fucking treaty!"

The king was left speechless for a few seconds. Jessie moved so was on both knees and was leaning towards the king.

"Furthermore, I have a job to do tonight" Jessie said. "I should be preparing for this war."

She made to leave, but Jareth caught her arm.

"I'm sorry" Jareth said with his eyes squeezed shut and his teeth clenched. It was always hard for Jareth to apologize. "I know that you will do what you need to in order to better the kingdom. I also know" Jareth said opening his eyes. "That you were expected to be gone for most of the night."

"That does not matter" Jessie said. "I was to finish what would be my normal shift when I returned."

Jareth pulled Jessie towards him and leaned his forehead against hers. He kept both hands at the base of her head.

"I want to love you" Jareth whispered.

"You want to control me" Jessie whispered back. Jareth's fingers stiffened. "You scare me sometimes, Jareth."

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave" Jareth whispered to her.

"I don't want a slave" Jessie whispered. Jareth moved forward and kissed her.

"Give me tonight" Jareth whispered. He moved his bloody hand between them. Jessie pulled his hand up and licked it free of blood. "Please."

"You must tell me that if I do this, you will not own me" Jessie said.

"I will not own you" Jareth said. He pulled away just enough to look into Jessie's eyes. "I will not own you."

Jessie nodded and moved to kiss Jareth. A flutter of wings from outside the tall windows and a squawk made Jareth pull away from Jessie with a smile. He made a gesture with his hand and the drapes fell closed.

The bird could be heard flying away. The bird flew towards the private cottages of the knights. The bird's eyes slowly changed to round orange eyes with cat-like pupils. The bird landed in front of a cottage and took its usual shape as Aulus. Black feathers turned into fiery orange hair and the black beak turned to pink lips.

Aulus stalked into his cottage cursing to himself. In the dead of night, he slammed his front door shut, sending a few small birds flying up from the trees.


	13. Chapter 12: War Time

Chapter 12: War Time

Early the next morning, the elder knights were woken up by the toll of the Council Hall bell. It didn't take long for the elders to gather at the Council Hall. Aulus was standing in the meeting room as the others came in.

"Who sounded the alarm?" Zill asked.

"I did" Aulus said. He looked as if he hadn't slept. The knights took their seats and looked rather exhausted for it being 4:00am. "I think we should get our troops moved out first thing this morning. I've been up all night thinking it over."

"Who will remain here?" Alexa asked. Alexa usually had a day shift and now looked as if she was still asleep.

"My division will remain" Zill said. "We can use the oubliettes to our advantage."

"My division will stay as well" Don Carlos said. "The Junkyard can serve as a last reserve."

"Does anyone have any objections to getting our troops sent out today?" Aulus asked. The group was quiet. Aulus ran a hand through his hair. "We need a division to remain at Baku."

"The Bog will stay at Baku" Hugo said.

"Then, lets get our troops moving at six" Aulus said. "If we hurry, our trip will only take us two days to make."

"Wait" Jessie said. "We have some allies that will be joining us."

"Allies?" Don Carlos asked.

"We will have a few warriors from the Desert of 13 Madmen" Jessie said. "We will also have King Oberon, King Ellery, Lord Vid, and Lord Oren."

"Who knows the latest on the numbers of the dwarves?" Hugo asked.

"Last I heard there were close to sixty thousand" Alexa said.

"We need to get into position or the dwarves will win" Aulus said. "We need to start moving our divisions by six."

"Agreed" The others said in unison.

The rest of the knights were awakened and prepared at five o'clock. Most of the knights were groggy, but the excitement and dread of what was to happen had everyone on their toes. Each division had their troops at attention, each one on a horse.

As the large clock in Goblin City chimed six times, the troops made their way out of the Labyrinth. The troops went faster and faster as they raced out of the Labyrinth.

The journey to Baku took two and a half days. Sir Hugo and his division stayed in Baku, staying near the roads that led into the city. The other troops moved on to Pining Plain.

"Aulus" Jessie called moving up to ride beside him. "Have you seen any of the allies in the woods?"

"No and neither have you" Aulus said shortly.

"That's why I was asking" Jessie said. "I thought that I had missed them."

"Well" Aulus said chancing to glare at her. "You thought wrong."

He moved ahead as the troops spilled into Pining Plain. Knights immediately started to set up tents and bonfires. Food was prepared and the horses were given water. It took hours before the troops had a fully functional camp, but it was too long afterwards when King Ellery approached with warriors behind him. Jessie and Alexa rode up to greet King Ellery.

"Your highness" Sir Jessie said.

"Sir Jessie and Sir Alexa" King Ellery said. The three watched as the troops started to form an extension of the camp. "Is King Jareth not here?"

"King Jareth is not allowed into battle without the high risk of losing his kingdom" Sir Alexa said.

"So he has not found himself a wife yet" King Ellery stated. The knights were silent. "How many troops are estimated to be coming through?"

"Sixty thousand" Sir Jessie said.

"They have six slidringtanni" Alexa said.

"How many men did you bring, King Ellery?" Sir Jessie asked.

"Only four hundred would come" King Ellery replied. He looked over at Jessie and shook his head. "Sir Jessie, always running the numbers."

"We appreciate your help" Sir Alexa said.

"If you will excuse me, I need to help out some knights" Sir Jessie said after watching a group of knights nearly caught a tent on fire with a lantern.

"I see that your festival has given you the troops you wanted" King Ellery said.

"It did" Sir Alexa said. "I just hope that the goblins arrive soon. I'm sure they will be here by tomorrow."

King Ellery and Alexa looked over to see Jessie spreading a bag of sand near the back of the camp.

"What is she doing?" King Ellery asked.

"That was given to her by King Al-Shaidan of the desert" Alexa said. "His troops are supposed to come through the sand."

"She was given the time of day by Al-Shaidan?" King Ellery asked in disbelief.

"Strange isn't it?" Sir Alexa said.

"Sir Alexa, will you excuse me?" King Ellery asked. "I must see to my troops."

"Yes, sire" Alexa said.

It was close to thirteen o'clock, midnight, when the goblins arrived at the plain. The numbers of the Labyrinth defenses increased by two thousand warriors. Jessie sat near one of the many fires waiting for the commotion to settle. She stared into the fire thinking about Jareth and Shaidan and how to resolve the problem. She barely noticed when Aulus sat next to her.

Aulus threw a rock at the large bonfire before asking "Are you happy?"

"Me?" Jessie asked. "I'm overly stressed out."

"But, are you happy?" Aulus asked. Jessie shrugged and picked up a frog-sized stone. She rubbed her thumb against its smooth surface.

"Aulus, I don't think I'd know how to be happy if I ever had the chance" Jessie said. Aulus caught a glimpse of green from the stone she rubbed with her thumb. He caught her hand with his and brought the stone up so he could look at it.

"Green tourmaline" Aulus said. "This is foreign to this kingdom."

"It must have fallen from a caravan" Jessie said. Aulus brought Jessie's hand up so she could see the stone.

"This will bring you luck and success" Aulus said. He let her hand go and smirked. "I suppose it's a good thing you have that since we're about to go into battle."

"Perhaps" Jessie said. An explosion from beyond the far side of the plain caught everyone's attention. "Oh shit."

"Fuck" Aulus said. "I thought you said we had a few days."

"It was a prophecy" Jessie said standing up and pulling her helmet on. "The future can always change."

The knights, the Goblins, and King Ellery's men were all running for their horses and heading towards the oncoming battle. Someone yelled that Lord Oren's men were attacking from the north. As the troops started racing towards the battle, several new warriors emerged from the dark forest wearing Lord Vid's tartan.

The ground shook as the oncoming sixty thousand troops started to pour into the plains. Trees fell to the ground as the six slidringtanni made their way into the clearing with their catapults. Dwarves with axes and swords ran towards the Labyrinth's defensive forces.

The giant black boars let out blood-curdling squeals and trampled those that were underfoot. The catapults unleashed clusters of large stones. The goblins bravely ran into battle, throwing grenades and small bombs at the large groups of dwarves. In the blackness that engulfed the plains, most of the warriors were lost as to who they were aiming for and just tried to hit whatever moved near them.

The battle went on fully until the sun started to rise. The oncoming dawn showed the red stained ground and the warriors who had remained on the battle ground. Several warriors had retired to their camps, while some remained on the field.

Jessie made her way back to the camp and sank to her knees at the water trough. She drank handfuls of water before picking herself up. She felt like she had been run over by a carriage or two. Her arms and legs were cut up. Her hands were bloody. She looked around and found that Aulus and Alexa were doing just as well as she was. In the field she could see Pheon'a Ch'a still fighting.

Jessie made her way towards the forest. She looked down at the sand as she passed it. Shaidan's warriors had not come through as he had promised, but the war was still going on. Jessie managed to find a small fox and quickly drained it of blood. She could feel the blood reviving her a tiny bit. She tossed the carcass to the ground and headed back to the sandy area.

Jessie stepped onto the sand and stomped on it.

"King Al-Shaidan!" Jessie yelled at the sand. She fell to her knees and dug her hands into the sand. "King Al-Shaidan!"

The ground rumbled beneath the sand and a door pushed up from the sand. Jessie stood as it opened and King Al-Shaidan stepped out. He looked out at the battle as if he were watching it from a far distance.

"It's a little early for a battle, isn't it?" Al-Shaidan asked. He turned to look at Jessie and his eyebrows rose. "Are you hurt, dear knight?"

"We need your warriors" Jessie said. "They missed the beginning of the battle, but, as you can see, there are still thousands of dwarves left."

"Yes, well I'll send them through" Al-Shaidan said. He paused before crossing through the door. "Come see me after you're done with this whole thing."

The door closed. Jessie had a look of confusion on her face.

"This 'whole thing'?" Jessie said to herself. She watched as the door opened again and Al-Shaidan's troops started to pour out onto the battlefield on black horses. Jessie stepped back and walked over to one of the camp cooks, taking a handful of bread and a handful of roasted meat. She quickly ate and drank a mug of water.

Surprisingly, through the night, the Labyrinth's defenses had held strong. Lord Vid's Woodsmen had joined in. Jessie figured that they had been there for nearly a day before the troops had showed up at the plains. The Woodsmen were elite warriors from Lord Vid's small province.

Jessie made her way towards the battle, taking her time. The dwarves had stirred when Al-Shaidan's men had rushed into battle. As Jessie approached the edge of the battlefield where the ground was soggy with blood, she withdrew her sword and started to run towards the nearest dwarf.

She raised her blade, cutting off the dwarves head. Two more appeared from nowhere, it seemed. Jessie went into a flurry of swipes, ducks, kicks, and blocks until the two dwarves lay dying on the ground. The inner demon that haunts every person rose in Jessie's mind and unleashed itself through her sword.

To anyone who might have been flying over the battle, she was quick and accurate with her sword. She nearly cleared a path into the dwarves. Anyone flying over the battlefield would have seen the one thing that Jessie never saw. The dwarven archers. Jessie screamed and curled her left shoulder as an arrow found its way through her armor and burrowed into her skin.

Jessie looked up to clearly see the archer, though the sight seemed strange to her. A Shaitan warrior rode up behind the archer as the archer was loading a new arrow and drove a scimitar into the dwarf's back. Jessie gripped the arrow and broke the shaft. Pain shot through her shoulder and down her side.

Dwarves flocked around her. Jessie raised her sword and waited for them to charge. The dwarves did and Jessie did her best to block their powerful blows and land useful strikes. Two Shaitans joined her, helping her slaughter the dwarves.

Jessie fell forward with a scream as a second arrow hit her under her right shoulder blade. The arrow deflected off of a metal stud and only pierced her leather armor and her skin. Jessie pushed herself off of the ground, not worrying about the bloody mud that now covered her. She reached back, and with a grunt, broke the shaft of the arrow that pierced her skin.

A battle cry made her look up. A white-haired dwarf charged at her with a large battle ax. Jessie quickly rolled towards him and raised her sword into his stomach, spilling his intestines onto the ground.

Jessie stood up and noticed a new ally on the battle front. King Oberon, who always went into battle, sat atop a horse in black and red robes. He wore a golden set of rings around his neck. Beside him were several warriors in full plate armor and nearly two hundred Red Caps, named for their once-white caps that they dyed in blood of those they killed. The Red Caps stood at an average of eight and a half feet with shoulders nearly four feet in width.

A warrior that sat next to Oberon blew into a wide horn, letting out a deep bellowing sound. Jessie made her retreat towards her camp as Oberon and his men charged into battle. The new troops were enough to produce ponds of dwarf blood in the plain. The energy that the new troops had was more then what the dwarves still encompassed.

Jessie stumbled towards the camp and stopped before a group of goblins and knights who were sitting and watching the battle.

"What are you doing?" Jessie demanded. The warriors looked up at her. "Get up. We will charge them."

"You look pretty bad" A goblin said.

"It does not matter" Jessie said. "Grab your weapons and get into basic formation."

"We're tired" A goblin said. The knights stood at attention and so did a few of the goblins. The ones that remained sitting received a sword pointed at them.

"Get up and fight" Jessie growled. "Or I will kill you myself."

The goblins stood up. A few other knights and goblins who had been on their way back out to the battlefield got into basic formation with the other. The lazy goblins got into position as well, making faces at Jessie.

"We will walk over there" Jessie said. "And we will slay any dwarf who stands in our way." No one objected. "March!"

The group marched forth. Jessie reached under her right arm and pulled out the tip of the arrow that had pierced her skin. She threw the bloody tip to the ground and kept marching forward. The group became closer to the battle.

"Attack!" Jessie yelled running towards a dwarf. The small group ran forth. The goblins threw their small grenades and the others swung their swords. The battle seemed to engulf the group. Blood fell upon everyone. The morning sun was rising and it became all the more clearer as to who was winning the battle.

Jessie pulled an acorn from her belt and quickly wrote 'help' on it. She held it on her open palm and said "_Glandis invenire propinqua Sir Hugo._"

The acorn took off to find Sir Hugo. Jessie picked up her sword and stepped back into fighting mode.

The battle went on in the same fashion for several hours, until the sun said that it was nearly ten o'clock. Most of the warriors on both sides of the battle were entirely exhausted. Jessie found Aulus sitting with his back against a thick tree. He almost looked like he was sleeping, but with the way he was holding his arm, it was obvious that he was just trying to be still for his arm.

"Aulus?" Jessie asked. She sank to the ground next to him. Aulus looked over at her. Jessie took off her helmet and let it fall onto the ground. "Are you badly wounded?"

"Nothing I can't deal with" Aulus said. "You?"

"I'll need a doctor afterwards, but I should be fine" Jessie said.

"Do you think we're going to win?" Aulus asked. Both of the knights looked out at the battle. The numbers had been cut down to nearly equal amounts. The slidringtanni had all been taken down by archers and goblin bombers.

"I think that if we have back up that we will win" Jessie replied.

"Did you contact Hugo?" Aulus asked.

"Yes" Jessie said. "I don't know where he is. I contacted him nearly four hours ago."

"Perhaps he was waiting for the dwarves to tire" Aulus suggested. Jessie pushed herself up to stand. Her tired body tried to trip over itself, but Jessie steadied herself against the tree that Aulus was using. "Where are you going?"

"Back out there" Jessie said.

"You can't be serious" Aulus said watching as her leg muscles twitched in protest.

"If I don't, then I will collapse" Jessie replied.

"If you do, you could be killed" Aulus said. "At least wait until Hugo gets here."

"I don't know when that will be" Jessie said stretching her neck out. She pulled out her sword, which seemed to weigh twice as much as it once had. She stumbled towards the battlefield. Aulus stood up, bracing himself against the tree. He watched as she approached the battle.

She managed to slice and gut nearly half a dozen dwarves before standing eerily still. Aulus' eyes grew wide as she started to slowly fall to her knees.

"Jessie!" Aulus yelled. He pushed himself to run towards her. He ran faster as he watched her fall onto her back with two arrows sticking out of her upper body. Aulus fell into a sprint with his sword drawn. He fell into battle swiping at the dwarves that came up to him.

Aulus looked down at Jessie, who was still obviously alive. She was gasping for air and trying to break the shafts of the arrows.

"Jessie!" Aulus yelled. "Will you live?"

"Aulus" Jessie gasped. Aulus grabbed onto her collar, behind her head, with his bad arm, and dragged her back to the camp. Aulus sheathed his sword when they were close to the camp and lifted Jessie.

"Stay with me" Aulus said as he rushed her over to a blood-free area of grass. He knelt over her and was surprised when she gripped his hand tightly.

"The medics" Jessie groaned. Aulus looked over to find the medics knee deep in wounded soldiers.

"There's a line" Aulus said. Jessie gasped for air much like a fish out of water.

"The sand" Jessie said. "Get me to the sand." Aulus picked her up and quickly moved her to the sand. She took as deep of a breath as she could and yelled "King Al-Shaidan!"

Aulus looked up at the door as it opened. Two women made of sand emerged from the door. The bent down and picked up Jessie, taking her inside. Aulus followed them, watching as Jessie was taken into the throne room. Aulus was only a step behind Jessie. He stayed beside her as she was presented to the king.

"What has happened?" Al-Shaidan asked changing to his human-size and moving to stare down at the knight.

"Arrows" Aulus said. His arm started to throb and he held it against his chest. "She's dying."

"Get her to the doctor immediately" Al-Shaidan commanded. The sandy figures quickly left with her. Al-Shaidan looked over at Aulus. "Are you wounded as well?"

"My arm is broken sire" Aulus said.

"But, you managed to bring my dear knight here" Al-Shaidan said.

"Yes, sire" Aulus replied. Al-Shaidan gestured to the doorway that Jessie was taken through.

"Hurry and catch up with them. Your arm can be healed" Al-Shaidan said. Aulus bowed and ran after the sandy figures.


	14. Chapter 13: Nike!

Chapter 13: Nike!

The first thing Jessie woke up to was darkness. She opened her eyes when she heard her name being called. Her whole body ached making her feel as if she was one giant bruise.

"Are you awake?" A soothing voice asked. Jessie groaned and turned onto her side. She noticed the intricately tiled walls and rich fabrics that hung on the wall. Jessie raised her hand up and was surprised when she didn't feel her leather armor. She glanced down and saw that she was in a new, clean white shirt.

"Where am I?" Jessie asked rolling back onto her back. Two Shaitan women looked over her.

"You are in the desert" The women said in unison. Jessie sat up.

"I have to get back to the battle" Jessie said.

"The war is over" The women said. "King Jareth and his allies won."

"We won" Jessie said. The women helped her from the table. Jessie remembered Aulus and his arm. "Where's Aulus?"

"Aulus?" The women asked.

"He brought me here" Jessie said.

"Oh, we fixed him and he left" The women replied. Jessie nodded. "His Majesty requests your presence, since you are awake."

"Okay" Jessie said. With the way her body ached she didn't feel like arguing. "Where are my things?"

The two women handed Jessie her belt of weapons, which she strapped around herself before leaving the room through the only door. The two Shaitan women quickly followed and led her into the throne room.

As they approached the throne, Al-Shaidan stood and shrank down to his human size. He waited for Jessie to bow before him and for the Shaitan women to leave before moving to hold Jessie's hands.

"My dear, you had us in a scare" Shaidan said. He squeezed her hands before pulling her into a hug. "I told you that you'd be back."

"I wasn't expecting to be back due to injuries" Jessie said. Shaidan laughed and held her out at arms length.

"How are you feeling?" Shaidan asked.

"Like I got hit by a carriage" Jessie replied. Shaidan wrapped a turquoise arm around her waist and walked with her towards a doorway…the doorway to his room.

"King Jareth contacted me" Shaidan said. "He wants me to send you to him right away. He seemed very worried about you."

"Then why are we heading to your bedroom?" Jessie asked. Shaidan smiled.

"I thought that you might want to rest before returning" Shaidan said. "I was told that my doctors pulled a dozen arrowheads from your body and found quite a lot of cuts and bruises."

"I had lost count" Jessie said. Shaidan held open the door to the bedroom.

"I will have you woken up in a few hours" Shaidan said.

"Thank you, sire" Jessie said with a small bow. Jessie moved to lie on the bed and stare up at the ceiling. Somewhere in-between counting the repetitious pattern on the ceiling and sleeping, Jessie found her self hoping that she'd be back in the Labyrinth.

"You need to wake up now, darling" Shaidan said softly. Jessie's eyes opened and she turned to curl towards Shaidan, who was lying next to Jessie. Shaidan ran his hands along her sides. "Your king has been asking about you and has threatened to send some people over to find you."

Shaidan moved to stand and pulled Jessie to her feet. He reached down and held up a cloth bag.

"These are your things" Shaidan said. Jessie took the bag. Shaidan placed a hand on Jessie's lower back and guided her out to his throne room. He stepped in front of her and pushed her hair back from her face. "I do hope that you come see me when you are not wounded."

"I am in debt to you, Shaidan" Jessie said. Shaidan smiled and gave her a gentle kiss.

"I will send you an invitation to come back" Shaidan said. The throne room doors opened and Aulus was shown in by two Shaitan women. "Sir Aulus. How is your arm?"

"It is doing just fine, your highness" Aulus said. He was dressed in loose cotton and soft suede. Aulus looked over at Jessie and smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm sore, but I will live" Jessie said. Jessie looked back at Shaidan and bowed. "Thank you, your majesty."

Shaidan took her hand and kissed her knuckles. "I will see you later, dear girl."

"You know you almost died, right?" Aulus said. Jessie sat behind him on his horse.

"So I was told" Jessie said. "Twelve arrowheads."

"You also had several deep cuts and were extremely exhausted" Aulus said. They entered the main entrance to the Labyrinth and headed for Goblin City. "I suppose you'll want to be on a full shift tonight."

"No" Jessie said. Clear blue sky and the birds that flew overhead put a small smile onto Jessie's face. "I think I'll just take the night off."

"You?" Aulus said in disbelief.

"I think I need a night off" Jessie said. She leaned forward so her head rested against Aulus' back. The Labyrinth emanated calmness and it seemed to permeate through the stones of the high walls. "I've had a long journey, Aulus. Perhaps I'll be ready for another after a long bath and a good night's sleep, but for right now all I want to do is go home."

"Sounds good to me" Aulus replied. "Sounds really good."

The end


End file.
